Forum 6-Palmer Steventon

Forum 6-Palmer Steventon

by Deleted user -
Number of replies: 2

I believe that Jankui continued on with the experiment because it was something he believed in and felt very strongly about. I know a lot of people have done some crazy things to be successful and sometimes that came with a cost. I think He knew there would be consequences but with something as groundbreaking as this, I don’t think he could have passed up the opportunity. I think that that they should leave it up to the parents to see if they want to press charges. I’m not sure how China’s laws work but I know they are pretty strict. If the parents want to do something about it, then they should but I think I’d be happy if I were the parents because Jankui has given them children who supposedly can’t get infected by HIV. Ethics wise, from reading the articles it is unethical what He did with the twins. However, this is something that in my mind seems different because it’s something that has helped people and can continue to help if they allow more of this. I strongly think that what He has done is something to be considered as great. For the publics opinion I think that there could be both a positive and negative effect. Positive because what Jankui was able to do is next level and opens the world to so much more to look into. It shows that the CRISPR-Cas 9 system can be used to help people with certain gene deficiencies. On the negative side, with him preforming this experiment unethically, it could scare scientists off from trying to use this more. This in the long term could prohibit new findings due to fear in the scientific community.

NormileNov, D., HeidtApr, A., HeidtApr, A., Ortega, R. P., HeidtApr, A., & BrainardApr, J. (2018, November 27). CRISPR bombshell: Chinese researcher claims to have created gene-edited twins. Retrieved from https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/11/crispr-bombshell-chinese-researcher-claims-have-created-gene-edited-twins

Li, J.-R., Walker, S., Nie, J.-B., & Zhang, X.-Q. (2019). Experiments that led to the first gene-edited babies: the ethical failings and the urgent need for better governance. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6331330/


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In reply to Deleted user

Re: Forum 6-Palmer Steventon

by Deleted user -
Hey Palmer! I liked your discussion and how you talked about how the parents should really be the ones who decide if charges should be applied to the scientists. I also agree with you that he was willing to give up his reputation to do this and make a life changing discovery in science. I also agree with you that this is a very crazy discovery and that if I was the parents, I would be very happy that my kids do not have to go through life worrying about this disease. I also think that there can be negative and positive effects, like you said that this work is very ground breaking and great that this was discovered, but at the same time it would scare people away from this experiment due to the fact that it was against ethical code.

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In reply to Deleted user

Re: Forum 6-Palmer Steventon

by Deleted user -
Hi Palmer!
I agree Jiankui knew what he was doing was shady and unethical but continued with the experiment because he felt so strongly about his work. I also agree there may be some unforeseen positive outcomes from an overall negative experience. Technologies such as CRISPR-Cas 9 should be used by people who understand the significance and eventual consequences of their work. I do not think Jiankui’s experiments would necessarily scare scientists from using CRISPR-Cas 9 technologies; however, the scientific community is probably more aware of checking the ethical implications of their research following Jiankui’s 2018 announcement. There is a lot of grey around surrounding this controversy.

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