In this chapter, I examine the science and ethical implications of gene editing.  This is a fairly recent biotechnological advancement.  I begin with an overview of the biology of gene editing, referred to as the CRISPR-Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-CRISPR-associated protein 9) technology.  I will then discuss how gene editing technology has recently emerged as a new methodology that is taken to be very promising to treat and prevent disease.  However, as I show, technology can also be used to alter traits unrelated to medical needs.

I argue that when gene editing technology is used for medically unrelated reasons, say, to change the human genome, it could result in unwanted genetic consequences, such as tumor formation.  It is critical to understand that abusing this technology could cause serious harm to human beings.  I conclude this chapter by showing how true biologists recognize that the study of the complex human biology must be a science that should aim at understanding human nature holistically.

Enjoy my chapter,

Lu