What is gene therapy and what are potential ethical concerns?

• A. Replacing defective genes to treat disease; concerns include safety, long-term effects, equity of access, and potential germline modification.
• B. Using bacteria to produce insulin; concerns include cost.
• C. Creating new species through editing.
• D. Sequencing entire genome; concerns include privacy.

Answer: (A)

Gene therapy aims to treat or prevent disease by changing a person’s genetic material, typically by introducing a functional copy of a gene or editing existing genes in the patient's cells. Replacing defective genes to restore normal function is a central approach, often delivered with vectors or precision editing tools, with most current work targeting somatic cells so changes aren’t passed to offspring.

Ethical concerns arise from what can happen after those changes are made. Safety and long-term effects are a major focus because unintended consequences, immune reactions to delivery methods, or edits in the genome (including off-target changes) could cause problems years down the line. Equity of access matters too: these therapies can be extremely costly and resource-intensive, potentially limiting who can benefit. Germline modification—alterations that could be inherited by future generations—raises deep questions about consent, equity, and the impact on society and human evolution, making it a particularly sensitive area of debate.

The other choices describe different biotechnologies or issues (like producing insulin with bacteria, creating new species, or sequencing a genome and privacy) rather than the therapeutic approach of gene therapy, and thus don’t capture the concept or the associated ethical concerns.