Wednesday, August 3, 2016

CRISPR

Where do I even start with this article.

I got so excited when I saw it. My family has a long line of cancer diagnoses and deaths, and the thought of there being a chance of there being a cure for some of the worst incurable cases brings tears to my eyes. I have been helping out with Jen's Friends for my entire life. Jen was my aunt, and though I never got to meet her, her death has brought a community together and so much change. My uncle, was also a cancer patient and we had tried everything to cure his tumor and if this had been around he would have taken it in a heart beat (and he would have been such a nerd about it too).

This article, even though it gives me so much hope, lets me down. What are the side effects? Will it trigger an immune response that can't be stopped and rampage through the body where ever the injected cells are carried off to? What were the animal trials like for this cure? Will it be available for everyone, or will it just turn out to be stupidly expensive (like all life-saving drugs)?

I am skeptical, but I really do hope that it works!

2 comments:

  1. I completely agree with you. While I found this to be both exciting and relieving, we don't fully know the side effects of this form of treatment and the absolute details. It is a great starting point, but we really don't know if there could be dangerous results that we have not taken into account yet, which makes the whole idea a little bit less exciting. I did not even think about animal testing until you brought it up in your response, but I wonder if this could help to give us a better understanding of any side effects, and how accurate these results could be based on the differences between humans and animals, and if this information is as valuable as it seems. As you said, it is a hopeful beginning, but still only in the works.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree with you as well, this treatment could save so many lives, but there are so many factors that we don't know. So much research needs to be done before it can enter the market. Who knows if we will even see this in our lifetime. This has so much potential, and it would be so exciting to see this work.

    ReplyDelete