Page 163 of The Bone Code

“Given that the notations appeared to focus on vaccine production.”

“It’s my understanding that CRISPR is a gene-editing tool.”

“That’s correct. The acronym stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats.” When I didn’t respond, she added, “Repeats of genetic information.”

“Right.”

“The full name is actually CRISPR/Cas9. Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna were awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry last year for their work with it. Two women. Isn’t that absolutely marvelous?”

“It definitely is. Can you tell me how it works?”

As Bangoboshe elaborated, I scrawled like mad. When she paused, I summarized what I’d written, leaving out the technical bits.

“So Cas9 acts as a molecular scissors to snip a DNA strand at a precise location.”

“Yes.”

“Snip it for what purpose?”

“To delete a segment, perhaps to insert a new gene. Gods above, my colleagues would be appalled at my oversimplification.” The flute whooped in laughter. Made me think of the clarinet glissando at the opening of Gershwin’sRhapsody in Blue.

“So CRISPR/Cas9 is basically a genetic cut-and-paste technique,” I said.

“I suppose you could view it that way.”

“Is it used for people?”

“The first human study took place in 2016 in a clinical trial at China’s Sichuan University. So the application of CRISPR/Cas9 to humans is relatively new.”

“I assume its primary function is to fix defects and cure disease?”

“Scientists are exploring the use of CRISPR/Cas9 in correcting awide variety of conditions, including single-gene disorders like cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, and sickle cell. The technique also holds promise for the treatment and prevention of more complex ailments such as cancer, heart disease, mental illness, and human immunodeficiency virus, HIV.”

“Didn’t I read an article not long ago about a doctor in China altering the genomes of unborn babies?”

“He Jiankui.” Coated with disdain. “He revealed at a conference in Hong Kong in 2018 that he’d created the world’s first genetically edited infants—twin girls. The announcement sent the scientific community into an uproar. Exactly the effect Dr. He wanted.”

“I’m sensing you don’t approve.”

“He and his colleagues violated internationally agreed-upon rules and crossed a line on medical ethics. Their goal is fame and fortune.”

“What did they do, exactly?”

“He used the CRISPR/Cas9 technique to disable a gene called CCR5. CCR5is used to make a protein needed by HIV to enter cells.”

“He and his colleagues created babies immune to HIV? Why is that so bad?”

“The subject is so very complicated.” The flute paused, I assumed to simplify for my benefit. “Most changes introduced via genome-editing technologies such as CRISPR/Cas9 are limited to somatic cells. Do you understa—”

“Cells other than egg or sperm.”

“Correct. Changes in somatic cells affect only certain tissues in an individual and are not passed from one generation to the next. Not so with alterations made to genes in egg or sperm cells or in the genes of an embryo. Those alterationscouldbe passed to future generations. So making such changes prompts serious ethical questions, including whether it’s permissible to enhance normal human traits.”

“Things like eye color, height, intelligence.”

“Exactly. Based on ethical as well as safety concerns, cell and embryo genome editing are currently illegal in many countries. Some governments, including that of the United States, have banned such work, fearing its misuse to create designer babies.”

“What happened to He?”