World News for Students of English

05-12-2025 15:00

A new company called Preventive recently received 30 million dollars in funding to study how to safely create genetically edited babies.

This research focuses on altering the DNA of human embryos, a claim the company says will help prevent future genetic diseases.

The initiative is highly controversial because it challenges existing legal and ethical rules. Supporters view this research as a major medical advance that could eliminate inherited illnesses. However, critics doubt the medical necessity, noting that current methods, such as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, already offer ways to avoid passing on genetic conditions. They also raise ethical warnings about the potential for a spiral towards eugenics, where parents could begin selecting desired traits beyond disease prevention, which may create severe social inequality.

The central concern is that any change made to an embryo’s DNA becomes heritable, meaning it will be passed down to all future generations. Therefore, the safety risks and the ultimate societal impact of this technology are unknowable, leading many experts to call for an international ban until more is understood.

Difficult words: controversial (causing disagreement or public debate), eugenics (a belief or practice about choosing which people should have children), trait (a specific quality or characteristic of a person).

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