Innovation With Responsibility: Bioethics and Biotechnologies

Introduction

We’ve all heard the word ethics thrown around once or twice before, but what really is it? Ethics are based on well-founded standards of right and wrong, as Santa Clara University, a private Jesuit university located in California, defines them. The topic of ethics investigates situations that are called morally right for people to act in, or what they ought to do. Its main branches include metaethics, applied ethics, and normative ethics. Here’s a twist, though- Bioethics. Biotechnology. I bet a nickel you haven’t heard of those terms before. Let’s learn about it.

Bioethics and Biotechnology

Biotechnology is the intersection of science and ethics. It celebrates what humankind has been able to work with in biology when combining technology with other forms of science. It involves experts in various fields, including environmental ethics, genetic engineering, and artificial intelligence in the medical field, among others. (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) But at what cost? Bioethics, known for its nature of unsolicited and unanticipated actions, is known to have both harmed and dehumanized people, causing a different ethical approach. However, bioethics, the interdisciplinary field that deals with and examines the ethical, social, and legal issues with advances made in the life sciences, should be further researched and talked about. Despite the ethical issues that arise within this topic, including the potential for biotechnology to be manipulated for harm, it can have a profound impact on the world if used and managed in the right hands.  

Fun fact: According to an article posted by Biology Discussion, the production of beer, wine, and other foods using yeast and the making of yogurt by the use of bacteria are early forms of biotechnology!

More on Biotechnology

In an article published by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, biotechnology, in its simplest terms, is defined as “technology based on biology.” The article further explains, adding how biotechnology in modern times helps to:

• Provide breakthrough products and technologies that combat rare diseases

• Feed the hungry 

• Reduce our environmental footprint 

According to the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, the largest trade organization globally, founded in 1993 and representing the biotechnology industry from around the world, there are currently over 250 biotechnology healthcare products and vaccines available for patients. To add, there are 13.3+ million farmers globally who use agricultural biotechnology to decrease the number of pests in their crops and reduce farming’s impact on the planet. 

Bioethical Issues in Genome Editing by CRISPR-Cas9 Technology

In genetic science, genome editing technologies (methods that allow scientists to precisely and accurately change an organism's DNA by changing, adding, or removing genetic sequences, either to introduce new traits or to correct genetic issues) have led to fundamental changes! Among these technologies, one that particularly stands out is CRISPR-Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) technology due to its advantages, such as easy handling. Furthermore, its high accuracy and low cost help CRISPR-Cas9 technology, co-founded by biochemist Jennifer Doudna and microbiologist Emmanuelle Charpentier, stand out from other genome editing technologies. While this profound technology has proven to be useful in multiple fields, it does raise a variety of bioethical concerns. The leading concern for this biotech is germline genome editing, also known as genetically altering human germline cells and embryos.

This issue stems primarily from the nature of undesirable occurrences in the genome, from who and how consent is informed, and the breeding of the human species. Other than this, CRISPR-Cas9 raises bioethical concerns within agriculture, livestock, and all the other fields with which it is associated. The safest use of CRISPR-Cas9 technology would be for legislation to be passed, with the different opinions of multiple professions to be heard prior. For a while now, molecular biologists have been researching efficient yet safe ways to use cellular repair mechanisms by using genome editing to change DNA. In recent years, it has been found that CRISPR-Cas9 technology has been most preferred for its use.  

Fun fact: The co-founders of CRISPR-Cas9 technology were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Chemistry in 2020! (The National Institute of Health)

Possible Risks and Harm Related to CRISPR-Cas9 Technology

The table below will display and summarize the findings of research on CRISPR-Cas9 over the decade: (Research and information taken from findings published and found on the National Center for Biotechnology Information) 

Possible risks and bioethical issues relating to CRISPR-Cas9 technology

Organism	Risks	Bioethical issues	References
Bacteria	Nontarget mutations, Gene drifts	Ecological imbalance	Rodriguez, 2016; Hundleby and Harwood, 2019; Esvelt et al., 2014
Plants	Nontarget mutations, Gene drifts	Patenting, Ecological imbalance	Shinwari et al., 2017; Hundleby and Harwood, 2019
Animal/chimeric animals	Nontarget mutations	Ecological imbalance, patenting, animal welfare and dignity, threat to human identity and dignity	Rodriguez, 2016 Polcz and Lewis, 2016 Rodriguez, 2017 Eriksson et al., 2018 Koplin, 2019 Degrazia, 2019 de Graeff et al., 2019
Humans	Nontarget mutations,  Side effects, Cost, Genetic mosaicism	Safety, incomplete or over-legislation, informed consent, eugenics, accessibility	Otieno, 2015 Rodriguez, 2016 Duardo-Sánchez, 2017 Shinwari et al., 2017 Greene and Master, 2018 Sherkow, 2018 Cathomen et al., 2019 Hirsch et al., 2019

The Bioethics of Stem Cell Research and Therapy

Bioethics has remained a constant concern because of the many controversies regarding research and the application of stem cells, according to an article written by Insoo Hyun and posted by PubMedCentral. This ranges from the source to basic usage. The most controversial argument regarding stem cells is their usage and derivation in research. Arguments concerning the morality behind the work have stayed a constant issue within stem cell research and therapy because of reasons including religious and personal beliefs. These concerns regarding the research and therapy revolve around testing around (potential) life.

Other than this, controversies revolving around stem cell research and therapy have increased drastically since the 1900s! One of the reasons is due to induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. These are dermal fibroblasts that are genetically engineered to behave like hES cells (human embryonic stem cells). However, despite the controversies surrounding it, stem cell research is expected to have an increase in activity thanks to IPS cells and increased federal funding for hES cells from the Obama administration.

Fun fact: Biotechnology has been in use since 1919! According to microbiologist Cullen Ndung'u, in an article published on Medium, an online publishing platform, its first implementation was in a DNA recombination experiment with bacteria. 

Other Forms of Biotechnologies to Know 

Other than CRISPR-Cas9 technology, here are some other biotechs to know! (Information taken from Tecnic, manufacturer of scalable bioprocess solutions, including tangential flow filtration systems and single-use consumables. 

• Red Biotechnology- (healthcare)

• Green Biotechnology- (agriculture)

• White biotechnology- (industry)

• Golden biotechnology- (bioinformatics)

• Grey Biotechnology-(Environment) 

Final Thoughts

Bioethics and biotechnology are super fun topics to look into and learn about! I hope you enjoyed this read, and as always, thank you so much for reading. I hope to see you in future blog posts!

Written by Gabrielle B and researched by Keegan W

2025 The HEAL Project