• Question: can you change peoples genetics

    Asked by chloe1998 to Damien, Rachael, Simon, Suzi, Tim on 13 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Suzi Gage

      Suzi Gage answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      Hi @chloe1998
      This is a great question!
      The answer is yes, although it’s a technique that is very new, and is still being developed.
      There is a technique called gene therapy, which is where if someone has a faulty gene which has made them ill, they can have the faulty gene replaced by a correct version of that gene, making them well again.

      It is also possible to help people have children without illness if there is a disease in a family which is passed on by genes. The sperm and egg are scanned before they combine to make a baby, and only ones that don’t have the faulty gene are selected. So although you are not changing the actual genes, you are making sure that the faulty gene will definitely not be there in the child.

      My cousin carries a gene for a disease called cystic fibrosis, and before she found out, she had babies, and they now have the disease, but after she found out she was able to have another baby where the sperm and eggs were selected to not have the gene, so her son doesn’t have the disease.

      I hope this answers your question!

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