Genetic modification, a technology of the future?

 

Man is seeking to live longer and to have the best possible life. The emergence of new technologies has allowed great advances in medicine with, for instance, transhumanism, a current of thought according to which the capacities of the human being could increase thanks to scientific and technical progress. The committee 4 members made a resolution on another medical advance: genetic modification. During this debate, we had the pleasure of welcoming students from the French high school in Dakar.

 

First of all, let's wonder what genetic modification is. It is the act of changing the genetic content of an organism by removing, adding, or substituting DNA.

First, let's look at genes. It was at the beginning of the 20th century that it was understood, thanks to the work of Mendel and Morgan, that heredity is due to fragments of the chromosome, called genes. In the 1950s, scientists (Watson, Crick and R. Franklin) demonstrated the double helix structure of DNA. In the following decades, other discoveries, including that of restriction enzymes, proteins capable of cutting DNA at specific sites, allowed the creation of the first GMOs. One example is the creation of a human insulin-producing bacterium in 1978. This was the first commercial use of genetic modification in 1982. In 1982, the first modified animal was born: it was a giant mouse on which the rat growth hormone gene was transferred. In 2018, two Chinese twins were born with a genetic mutation that was supposed to preserve them from HIV, introduced through the CRISPR-Cas9 enzymatic process. This birth highlighted the lack of international regulation on genetic modification and the different uses of this technology in different states.

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With the goal of creating a resolution to regulate genetic modification, delegates from different nations met for three sessions under the chairmanship of Morgan Dawson and Jordan Mbock. The first session was an opportunity to get to know the different delegations. The second session was the lobbying phase: the chairmen created two breakout rooms where each country gave its opinion and position on the subject. At the end of the session, the delegates put their clauses on the resolution and China volunteered to be the spokesperson for the resolution. The third and final session was the debate phase: the delegates started by amending the resolution and then China made a speech. Following this, the committee discussed the various amendments submitted by the delegations. Finally, the committee voted on the resolution supported by three speeches from China, Russia and the United Kingdom.

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These sessions allowed the creation of a resolution that is lenient towards genetic modification on humans, but that frames it by emphasizing animal protection and by prohibiting until further notice any germline genetic modification or cloning in humans.

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written by VICTOR AMMARI

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