The Cures and Controversy of Genetic Engineering

By Carla Wong

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In today’s world, genetic engineering plays a crucial role across many fields, offering significant benefits and opportunities. This ranges from genetically engineered crops in the farming industry to treating diseases such as sickle cell anaemia in healthcare. However, while genetic engineering has enabled major advances, it raises many ethical concerns. It is essential to balance the advancement of these new techniques and respect the natural world, as genetic engineering can have significant consequences, such as reducing biodiversity on Earth. 

A prominent use of genetic engineering can be seen in agriculture with the modification of corn. A hundred years ago, corn looked nothing like the crop we know today. It evolved from the wild plant teosinte, which had small, hard kernels, and it was completely unrecognisable. Through genetic modification, such as increasing the expression of the tb1 gene, the crop was completely transformed, with less branching and significantly bigger kernels. This is no doubt a game changer in farming. By growing crops with resistance to pesticides, pests and diseases, the crop yield is not only increasing, but the nutritional values of these crops also benefit. This moves us a step closer to reducing world hunger by allowing foods to become more accessible and affordable for consumers. Despite the many benefits, there are also some risks of genetic engineering in plants when used too selectively. An issue to consider is the reduction of the gene pool, making plants vulnerable to changes in their environment and diseases, as a vast majority of them have the same genetic makeup. This can lead to the extinction of these species, leading to a loss of biodiversity. 

Genetic engineering is also slowly anchoring itself into the healthcare system for genetic disorders. In the UK, it is currently used to treat sickle cell anaemia. Sickle cell anaemia is a genetic disorder where red blood cells have abnormal shapes, so they are unable to pass through small blood vessels effectively, blocking blood flow and causing severe pain and fatigue. The National Health Service (NHS) is the first to offer a treatment called xagamglogene autotemcel (exa-cel) to battle sickle cell anaemia. This treatment works by extracting stem cells which are found from the bone marrow, and the normal gene for haemoglobin—a component in red blood cells— and then reintroducing them into the patients. According to the NHS, researchers have concluded that there was a “functional cure” for sickle cell anaemia in 96.6% of participants in the trial. This shows the potential for more applications of genetic engineering in current healthcare services, especially in fields such as cancer treatment.

Despite the many opportunities presented by genetic engineering, it is still a new and growing field with incomplete regulations regarding its usage. A major concern in this field is the use of these techniques for enhancement rather than treatment, as there is a fine line between the two. An ethically contentious application  of genetic engineering can be seen in the concept of designer babies. This is where the genetic makeup of an embryo is altered to express certain traits such as physical characteristics, hair and eye colour, or even to prevent genetic diseases. It can be argued that designer babies will create a generation of people with more positive traits, such as intelligence and eyesight, but isn’t this only accessible for the most wealthy? The cost of creating a designer baby is currently £6000 per child in a UK clinic, which may not be accessible for all families, fueling the wealth divide even more. Another significant risk of genetic engineering is creating babies with dysfunctional traits, as there is currently little research on the effects of this technique on babies.

As seen above, it is vital to manage the growing field of genetic engineering as consequences can be extremely detrimental to society and ecosystems. Currently, many countries have legislation regarding this matter, but there isn’t a cohesive approach to managing genetic engineering. Some countries, such as the US and Canada, focus on the final genetically engineered product and its safety, rather than the method used to create it.  In contrast, countries such as India and China have stricter regulations on the process of genetic engineering in terms of the research and trials behind it. As genetic engineering becomes more widespread, it is important to establish international standards to ensure that countries are aligned on the same scientific and ethical considerations. Organisations such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) can coordinate standard procedures, ensuring that countries have similar expectations regarding genetic engineering to avoid loopholes and to allow for the safety of its usage.

To conclude, genetic engineering has much potential to make a colossal difference in our lives. While it is undoubtedly going to be intertwined into the modern world through various applications, such as in farming and healthcare, we should be cautious of the ethical implications surrounding the use of genetic engineering. It is important to understand the risks of genetic engineering moving forward, including both social and environmental ones. Genetic engineering is certainly an exciting field with many new applications to be worked on and much more still to be discovered.

References

Ball, P. (2017). Designer babies: an Ethical Horror Waiting to happen? [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jan/08/designer-babies-ethical-horror-waiting-to-happen.

England, N. (2025). NHS England» Revolutionary gene-editing therapy for sickle cell ‘offers hope of a cure’ for NHS patients. [online] England.nhs.uk. Available at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/2025/01/revolutionary-gene-editing-therapy-for-sickle-cell/.

Food and Drug Administration (2024). GMO Crops, Animal Food, and beyond. GMO Crops, Animal Food, and Beyond, [online] 1(1). Available at: https://www.fda.gov/food/agricultural-biotechnology/gmo-crops-animal-food-and-beyond.

Genetic Literacy Project (2020). Global Gene Editing Regulation Tracker. [online] Global Gene Editing Regulation Tracker. Available at: https://crispr-gene-editing-regs-tracker.geneticliteracyproject.org/.

Marsh, B. (2006). ‘Designer baby’ clinic to charge £6,000 per child. [online] www.telegraph.co.uk. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3337737/Designer-baby-clinic-to-charge-6000-per-child.html.

Rushton, M. (2021). The importance of biodiversity. [online] Cura Terrae Land and Nature. Available at: https://www.ecusltd.co.uk/insights/the-importance-of-biodiversity/ [Accessed 9 May 2025].