Report
Warns on Human Gene Trials
By PAUL RECER
04:27 PM ET 09/18/00
AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -
Attempting to change genes and create future generations
of perfect, healthy human beings is dangerous,
irresponsible and should not be permitted now, a panel
of experts says in a report. A committee of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, in a report
issued Monday, called for the creation of a public
committee to monitor and oversee the increasingly
sophisticated research into genetic modification.
Much of the current
research is concentrating on modifying the genes to
correct health problems in living humans. This is called
somatic gene modification and involves changing the
genes in existing mature cells.
But, the committee
said, there is animal research in which there is an
alteration of genes that affect future generations. This
is called ``inheritable genetic modification,'' or IGM.
Applied to humans, IGM
could, in theory, allow the production of ``designer
children,'' or babies born with genes modified to make
them, and future generations taller, more athletic, more
beautiful or more intelligent. IGM could also be used to
remove from a family lineage the genes that cause
inherited diseases.
Dr. Theodore Friedmann
of the University of California, San Diego, said that
IGM technology now ``is not safe for humans.''
He said experiments
have produced animals born with major birth defects,
gross physical distortions and fatal abnormalities. The
same thing, he said, could happen in humans if the
current IGM technology was applied.
Friedmann said reports
of gene manipulation and cloning experiments tend to
concentrate on the successes. But behind each triumph
there can be scores of animals that were born with
terrible and usually lethal genetic problems. This, the
committee said, shows that the IGM research is not now
safe to use on humans.
``In animal
experiments, this technology has been highly inefficient
and not of proven safety,'' said Friedmann. ``There are
major technical barriers to using this technology in
humans.''
Sondra Wheeler, a
teacher at the Wesley Theological Seminary in
Washington, said permitting IGM research in humans also
could be socially disruptive. She said there is the
possibility that genetic changes that would produce
healthier and improved children would be available only
to the wealthy.
``This would widen the
gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' to an
unprecedented extent,'' the report said. ``There is a
moral problem on the distribution of these benefits,''
said Wheeler. ``Who gets it? Who decides? What criterion
do they apply?''
The committee report
said a public committee should be organized to monitor
and oversee any IGM research on humans. The report
called for a public discussion to determine if Americans
really want to approve human IGM research.
The American
Association for the Advancement of Science is the
world's largest federation of scientists, with more than
146,000 members. The AAAS publishes Science, one of the
world's major, peer-reviewed journals of general
scientific research.
___
Related Links:
The American
Association for the Advancement of Science:
http://www.aaas.org
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