New Genetics

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

I enjoy trying to comprehend “complex” concepts and reducing them (as much as possible) to “simple.” It’s a way of comfortably moving on in my daily life.

I’m considering my affinity for Darwinian theories. I am not a geneticist, but Darwin’s concepts are logical, proven, and unarguable. I have learned to accept genetics as a very complex structure that’s always interesting. It’s a sort of simple understanding in my mind.

Nowadays, however, I’m learning more about the processes of CRISPR, a gene-editing process. That’s a groundbreaking shift in how genetic changes can occur. CRISPR can instantly create precise and intentional genetic modifications. That bypasses the Darwinian model of slow, natural mutation and selection processes.

In Darwin’s model, genetic variations arise randomly, and advantageous traits evolve over generations. In CRISPR, scientists directly edit genes to create desired traits in plants, animals, and potentially in humans. CRISPR has advantages. For instance, it can insert genes for disease resistance or increased intelligence. It’s “engineered” evolutionary outcomes instead of natural ones.

I am scared that CRISPR can let humans take control of the genetic code—something previously shaped by nature alone. To me, that crosses moral and existential boundaries. I prefer not to imagine a future where humans have the power to design plants, animals, and ourselves.

I can’t reduce the complexities CRISPR introduces to anything that resembles simplicity. New possibilities discomfort my relation to the here and now and complicate my daily life.

Dear Friends: The massive amount of information available influences thoughts. Diana