Gene Transfer

Gene transfer is the process of transferring genetic material from one cell to another by mechanical or surgical means. This process can help overcome the problems inherent in finding or manufacturing viruses which might be used to transfer the material and offers a genuine opportunity to redress some of the issues concerning genetic disease. Vertical gene transfer involves moving genetic material from a cell to its successor, while horizontal or lateral gene transfer involves the transfer of material among cells which do not have such a relationship.

Scientific understanding of the role and nature of genes in single-celled organisms was more or less complete by the end of the 1960s. Since then, researchers have been working on expanding understanding to higher organisms. Although many advances have been made, the complexity of genetic interactions and bodily functions means that there have also been many failures and even deaths resulting from clinical trials. Inserting genetic material via virus has proved to be more difficult than anticipated because the human body has spent millennia fighting to resist viruses and the legacy of this conflict is multifactorial and difficult to document exactly. Clearly, those researchers who could discover breakthroughs and convert this knowledge into marketable treatments for pharmaceutical companies would find their careers transformed into glittering success and this, together with the need to obtain research grants, can produce pressure on scientists to work with maximum speed and at the limit of understanding.

It is clear that bacteria contain genetic material that may have been spliced together from quite unrelated or at least diverse organisms. The altered genetic material has led to quite distinct changes in the ecological niche which the bacteria has subsequently occupied. To some extent, these changes are understood and can be manipulated to create distinctive forms of bacterial life. If the same processes can be more properly understood in more complex life forms and the changes that would be brought about therefore predicted, then it would be possible to modify living creatures, including people, in whatever ways might be desired. It is obvious that this would have major benefits in that it could assist people suffering from genetically inherited diseases and conditions. However, a number of social and ethical issues need to be resolved to determine whether the same technology would be deemed acceptable to root out other genetic conditions which some may consider undesirable—obesity, perhaps, or unattractive features. It is clear that even if this technology became sufficiently well established as to make it available on an open market, prohibitive costs are likely to rule it out from all but the most wealthy members of the most wealthy societies, at least for the foreseeable future. This brings about additional equity issues that should be considered.