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Altered evolution: are reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialists ready for the genetically engineered future?

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Abstract

Science, propelled forward by noble aspirations and, at times, human hubris, has the capacity to affect lives and alter the world in unanticipated ways. Even seemingly minor discoveries have repeatedly proven to have far reaching implications that experts within their respective fields could not have predicted. Nuclear technology is both a source of energy and a potential means of annihilation. The internet has both seamlessly connected the world but has also opened society to the misuse and manipulation of information. Both exemplify how new technologies have the potential for positive and negative outcomes that often go beyond what was initially intended. This is not a fault of science and innovation but rather an inherent occupational hazard as new discoveries exist within a gray zone between ignorance and comprehension. These gaps in our knowledge can only be filled over time as our knowledge expands. Innovations that were once seen as fringe, over time, become mainstream and that which was once revolutionary becomes a part of everyday life. Occasionally, a scientific advancement comes along that challenges societal norms and causes us to question what is feasible, acceptable, and ethical. Nowhere in the twenty-first century has this been more evident than within the fields of genetics and genetic engineering. As we gain a deeper understanding of the source code of life, from individual base pairs to epigenetic influences, the implications of new discoveries will go far beyond curing genetic diseases, and the possibilities will be endless. Reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) specialists utilize many tools including expanded carrier screening, preimplantation genetic testing, and embryo selection and have become some of the experts at the forefront of the ongoing genetic revolution. Now more than ever, there is a need for REIs to be trained in the fundamentals of genetics, exposed to novel gene sequencing and editing techniques, and involved in the coming ethical discussions in order to be prepared for the genetically engineered future.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Rush University Medical Center, 1653 W. Congress Pkwy, Suite 218 Kellogg, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA

    Zoran J. Pavlovic

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Cincinnati, Medical Sciences Building Room 7264, 231 Albert Sabin Way, Mail Location 0526, Cincinnati, OH, 45267, USA

    Megan R. Sax

  3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, 4900 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90027, USA

    Ashley S. Kim

  4. Program in Adult Endocrinology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA

    Alan H. DeCherney

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  1. Zoran J. Pavlovic
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  2. Megan R. Sax
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  4. Alan H. DeCherney
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Correspondence to Zoran J. Pavlovic.

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Pavlovic, Z.J., Sax, M.R., Kim, A.S. et al. Altered evolution: are reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialists ready for the genetically engineered future?. J Assist Reprod Genet 37, 2949–2954 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-020-01963-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-020-01963-8

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