Cut-and-Paste Genetics: A CRISPR Revolution: Sahotra Sarkar: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Cut-and-Paste Genetics

A CRISPR Revolution

Cut-and-Paste Genetics

A CRISPR Revolution

Description

The emergence of CRISPR/Cas9 technology has revolutionized gene editing. The Nobel prize for chemistry was awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna, the scientists responsible for its discovery, in 2020 and it is considered the frontier of sophisticated medical science. This technology contains the promise that both gene therapy and eugenic control of human evolution is possible, even plausible, in our near future.

This book looks at these developements in the context of the history of previous social and scientific attempts at genetic editing, and explores the policy and ethical challenges they raise. It presents the case for altering the human germ-line (which contains and controls hereditary genetic information) to eliminate a large number of genetic diseases controlled by a single or few genes, while pointing out that gene therapy is likely to be ineffective for diseases with more complex causes. In parallel it explores the possibility of genetic enhancement in a set of case studies. But it also argues that, in general, genetic enhancement is ethically problematic and should be approached with caution.

Given the success of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, and the explosion of related techniques, in practice it would be virtually impossible to ban germ-line editing in our future. A more useful goal is to put regulation in place, with oversight that represents the interests of society. That, in turn, requires an informed public discussion of these issues, which is the intention of this book.

Preface
1.Breeding a Perfect Society
Beginnings: Davenport and eugenics in the United States * IQ and involuntary sterilization * Genetics against eugenics * Exporting sterilization * The Watson scandal * Davenport’s dreams today
2.Molecular Diseases, Elusive Treatments
The molecularization of biology * Molecular diseases * But no molecular medicine
*Dreams of editing genes * Followed by stunning failure * Recombinant DNA made no difference * Gene editing BC
3.What Good Was the Human Genome Project?
The sequence revealed * Common diseases and common variants * Medical irrelevance of the sequence * Critiques of the HGP, past and present * Evolution and architecture of the genome * Evolutionary contingency
4.The CRISPR Revolution
The CRISPR structure emerges * Its function is decoded * The mechanism of immunity * Onward to gene editing * The delivery problem * Ubiquitous CRISPR
5.Inevitable Eugenics?
Eugenics in the news * What is eugenics? * Defining eugenics * A working definition * Inescapable eugenics? * Matters of ethics
6.Eliminating Genetic Diseases
The long reach of Huntington’s disease * The He Jiankui affair * The ethics of human germ-line intervention * The limits of current science * Gene specificity and Lenin’s brain * A policy proposal * Proceed with caution * Liberal and moderate eugenics
7.Designer Baby Delusions
Why not genetic enhancement? * The normal and the enhanced * Liberal eugen- ics and genetic enhancement * Rationality of genetic enhancement * Planned human obsolescence * Where is the science? The case of intelligence * Genomics and IQ * What about physical traits * Genetic reductionism * Contextual developmental construction * What is perfection?
8.A CRISPR Future
Editing the human germ-line * Gene drives * The ethics of promoting extinction
*Biosecurity * CRISPR without the hype

Product details

Published	15 Mar 2024
Format	Paperback
Edition	1st
Extent	224
ISBN	9781786614384
Imprint	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Illustrations	3 b/w illustrations; 1 table
Dimensions	229 x 152 mm
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

The molecular gene-editing tool known as CRISPR—named for the DNA sequences it exploits (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)—is poised to inspire a new era of eugenic thought and activity. Though the promise of eliminating genetic disorders has been discussed for decades in the context of gene therapy and the Human Genome Project, CRISPR technology has the potential to fulfill such promise. Sarkar's book, a thoughtful, fascinating exploration of this technology as it could enable pursuit of eugenics principles, will help readers frame and discuss the legal, social, and ethical challenges of CRISPR technology as it comes into more widespread use. Exhaustive notes and references round out a highly readable and useful book. Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. Students in two-year technical programs.

Choice Reviews
More than a superb primer on CRISPR technology and a broad review of its current biomedical applications and future potential uses, Cut-and-Paste Genetics offers a panoramic view of the molecular biology revolution – both its legitimate promises and its hyperbolic claims. In this balanced account, Sahotra Sarkar, a distinguished philosopher of science, has written an accessible guide and trenchant critique that will become a principal commentary in the policy debates swirling around the role of genetic engineering in clinical medicine.

Alfred I. Tauber, professor emeritus of philosophy and Zoltan Kohn professor emeritus of medicine, Boston University
The concept of the gene was tied to the dream of human improvement through biology – eugenics – almost from its inception. Sahotra Sarkar turns a sharp eye on this troubling connection in his stimulating new book Cut-and-Paste Genetics, weaving together the history of genetics and its modern practice, the field’s real and false promises, and the stunning leap in manipulative capability accompanying modification by CRISPR.

Stuart A. Newman, professor of cell biology and anatomy, New York Medical College
The sophistication of this book makes it best for an educated audience—those who have some background in science, the history of science, or philosophy. But the clarity of the explanations of gene editing, the history of eugenics and evolutionary science, and the relevant arguments from social philosophy and health policy make it accessible for anyone with a basic background in just one of those areas. It is enjoyable to read a book where the writing is crisp and clear, but the tone is lightened by stories and opinionated asides. This would be an appropriate book for a wide range of classes, from history and philosophy of science to bioethics, as well as for students preparing for careers in medical research, healthcare administration, and health policy. In spite of the conceptual complexity, the narrative is clear and lively, and my experience as a reader was that it repeatedly corrected common technical, historical, ethical, and political misunderstandings.

Metascience