A couple of weeks ago my daughter gave me a copy of “The Code Breaker – Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing and the Future of the Human Race” by Walter Isaacson for my birthday. Perhaps it was a nice gift – but it certainly didn’t leave me feeling full of confidence about the future of the human race!

According to this book, Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna was instrumental in the development of the gene editing “tool” known as CRISPR. Doudna’s work resulted in the development of many marvelous things, including COVID-19 testing tools and vaccinations. The book is a step-by-step history of the science of genetics starting with Watson and Crick’s determination that DNA is made up of two sugar-phosphate strands that spiral to form a double-stranded helix joined by pairs of chemicals called adenine, thymine, guanine, and crtosine (commonly known as A, T, G and C). This massive chemical structure creates our genes and therefore determines how we are built (and function). The result is a mind-boggling complex result from such as “simple” structure. However, that seems reasonable in a way – it is a simple code that results in great complexity and flexibility in a way that is analogous to computer code being formed by strings of 1’s and 0’s.

The discovery that the “genes” (originally postulated by Gregor Mendel) consist of self-replicating groups of the four chemicals (A,T,G and C) was enlightening and interesting, but mostly an intellectual pursuit – until a few developments changed the likely future of mankind. One of the key developments was the ability to determine the sequence of these chemicals – identifying the “letters” and sequence of the code of life. The book made no mention of how this is accomplished other than to say it has been done. The next important step was to decipher the code into genes that eventually determine all of the inheritable attributes of every animal on earth. Scientists have begun the monumental task of determining the code sequences that result in “us” all. Again, the book had little to say about this process except to indicate that is can be done, and has been accomplished for a lot of attributes For example, they know the sequence and location of the code for eye color, knowing which sequence results in blue eyes and which one results in brown eyes.

Then Doudna and her crew made a monumental discovery. They (and others) determined that bacteria have a really sneaky way of gaining immunity from viruses. Bacteria have a sequence of DNA that can make copies of the DNA (actually RNA) of attacking viruses. The bacteria makes a copy of the virus’ code, and then inserts it into its own DNA (cutting and/or copying the code from the virus, and then inserting that material into the desired location in its own DNA. Whenever it (or its offspring) encounters that virus in the future it will recognize the virus as being “bad” and then chop it up into tiny pieces. The immunity created in this way becomes part of the “germline” (inheritable DNA) of the bacteria rather than merely immunity achieved by the individual organism. Bacteria has been battling viruses this way for hundreds of millions of years. The code sequences that allow bacteria to accomplish this feat are known as CRISPR.

Apparently it is pretty easy for scientists to identify a length of code as a gene and to figure out what attribute are controlled by that gene. It also appears to be pretty easy to modify the CRISPR feature of a bacteria to match that code string, and therefore create a nifty cutting/replicating/inserting tool (which is what is being referred to when we hear about CRISPR in the news). In the case of Covid-19, it took a small team less than a week to identify the genes responsible for the “spikes” on the virus and create a CRISPR tool to cut that gene sequence out and replicate it as a safe and effective vaccination. They could do it so fast because they already and the tools, techniques and expertise to do that for just about any target that was of interest. In their case, they created a “look alike” virus that couldn’t cause harm but was similar enough for the human cells to create antibodies giving immunity to that virus.

They used variations of this approach to develop testing tools, vaccinations as well as “cures”. It is pretty amazing stuff. However, they only did that for the cells of the body that are NOT part of the human germline (perhaps … I am skeptical). That is all well and good. However, the CRISPR and associated tools can do MUCH more than that – easily. Kits costing approximately $100 are available on-line that allow anyone to modify genes in this way in their garage. No expensive laboratory, million dollars space-age tools necessary. A few dollar’s worth of easily obtained reagents, some glass containers and you are in business. Not only are you in business creating gene variations within an individual, but add a couple thousand dollars for a microscope and equipment to operate on single cell “embryos” and you can change the future generations of mankind. You can change anything about people. Skin color, height, strength, sex, perhaps sexual orientation, proneness of many diseases, intelligence, characteristics of aging, perhaps the length of the “die at age”, etc, etc, etc. Not only can all of these things, and many more, be changed but it is quick, easy and cheap to do so. “Designer people” are a real possibility right now, and in fact that has already happened in China by a rogue scientist named He Jiankui (and perhaps elsewhere). The processes are so easy to accomplish that it will be impossible to effectively regulate what uses will be made of this technology.

So now the genie is out of the bottle. Now what? Obviously there is an opportunity to do immense good for humanity by eliminating many inheritable health problems. However, while the scientists appear to be pretty good at identifying what code sequence does a particular thing (such as regulate eye color), what they don’t know is what other things are also influenced by that code sequence. It is not nearly as simple as one-code one-result, there is a one-to-many relationship and we have no way to predicting the many side of the equation. Perhaps the code for eye color also influences something else, such as susceptibility to common pollutants or the shape of the liver. Who knows?? Nobody knows. And if that change was made to the germline, then all of the descendants share the unknown changes (which might not show up until something in the environment generations later). Not only that, but the gene editing isn’t perfect. It is not unusual for other sections of other genes to be unknowingly changed during the procedures. This already happened with the designer twins born in China. There is a huge opportunity for unintended consequences.

Scientists have an exceptional ability to believe that they know “everything” about what they know about. The book makes is pretty clear that those in the field of genetic modification and gene editing know all of the consequences from what they are doing. They act as if they not only can “play God” but that they have a God-like knowledge of the full range of impacts of their work. Obviously this is not the case. However, now that they created this opportunity – what is going to be the outcome? It makes me want to stick my head in the sand while keeping my fingers crossed hoping for the best. We live in amazing times – it feels like great advances and great risks are arising in every direction.