GS Paper 3Biotechnology and gene editing
CRISPR technology has rapidly advanced in recent years, with new tools and clinical breakthroughs. Highlight the recent developments in CRISPR-based gene editing technology applications. Discuss the opportunities and ethical challenges these advancements present for healthcare and society.
Based on 18 evaluated answers to this question on CollectorBabu: here is what aspirants most often missed, the mistakes that cost marks, and a model answer.
What most aspirants missed
- Casgevy's FDA approval (December 2023) for sickle cell disease as the first approved CRISPR therapy, with its high cost of about $2 million per patient
- Base editing and prime editing as next-generation tools that reduce double-strand breaks and off-target effects
- Germline versus somatic editing distinction, and why heritable changes raise the stronger ethical concerns
- Cas13 RNA editing and SHERLOCK/DETECTR diagnostics, including India's FELUDA test for COVID-19
- Global governance: WHO's 2021 framework on human genome editing and UNESCO's Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights
- Equity and access issues, including cost barriers for developing nations and the case for global access initiatives
Common mistakes
- Describing CRISPR-Cas9 as the latest development without mentioning base editing, prime editing or Cas13
- Giving examples without dates, approvals or specific details, such as vague claims about cures or agriculture
- Stating the He Jiankui case inaccurately, for example as an HIV cure, rather than as an unregulated germline editing controversy
- Listing ethical concerns without linking them to governance frameworks or to the question's healthcare and societal angle
- Using informal or sensational language and fear-based claims about misuse, rather than framing dual-use concerns precisely
What the better answers did
- Structuring the answer under clear headings: recent developments, opportunities, ethical challenges and governance
- Citing dated, verifiable milestones such as Casgevy's 2023 approval, prime editing (2019) and the WHO 2021 framework
- Using a simple, accurate diagram of the Cas9 mechanism to anchor the explanation, as praised by evaluators
- Balancing benefits with the equity and germline concerns, and ending with a clear normative position
Introduction
Open by noting that CRISPR-Cas9 is now a clinical reality with Casgevy's 2023 approval, which frames the question's demand for recent developments.
Conclusion
Close by tying the benefits to equitable access and strict governance of heritable editing, showing the balance the question asks for.
Model answer
CRISPR-Cas9 (2012) has moved from the lab to the clinic. Recent advances have made gene editing more precise, more diverse in application, and, for the first time, commercially approved for patients. The benefits are large, but so are the ethical and access challenges.
Recent developments
- Clinical approval: Casgevy (exa-cel), based on CRISPR-Cas9, was approved by the US FDA in December 2023 for sickle cell disease and beta-thalassaemia. The UK's MHRA had approved it earlier that month.
- Next-generation tools: Base editing (2016) changes single letters of DNA without double-strand breaks. Prime editing (2019) can write small insertions, deletions and substitutions with fewer off-target effects.
- RNA targeting: Cas13 edits RNA. SHERLOCK (Cas13) and DETECTR (Cas12) were adapted for rapid COVID-19 diagnostics, including India's FELUDA test.
- Agriculture: Japan approved a gene-edited tomato in 2021. Gene drives for malaria control in Anopheles mosquitoes are under study, not yet deployed.
Opportunities
- Cure for monogenic diseases, such as sickle cell disease, where Victoria Gray was among the first treated patients.
- Personalised medicine, including CAR-T cells edited with CRISPR for cancer.
- Cheaper, faster diagnostics suited to public health.
Ethical challenges
- Germline versus somatic editing: Germline changes pass to future generations. He Jiankui's 2018 claim of CRISPR-edited babies showed the risks of unregulated work.
- Equity: Therapies costing about $2 million per patient risk a biological divide between rich and poor, and between nations.
- Safety and dual use: Off-target mutations, and the misuse of gene-editing tools for harmful purposes.
Governance
- WHO's 2021 governance framework and registry for human genome editing.
- UNESCO's Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights (2005), which stresses autonomy, justice and non-maleficence.
- Divergent national approaches: the EU treats gene-edited crops as GMOs, while China has issued more permissive rules.
CRISPR's promise is real, but it must be matched by strong global governance, affordable access and a clear ban on heritable human editing. Science should serve equity, not only markets.
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