Sam McKee: When considering human settlements on the moon, Mars and further afield, much attention is paid to travel times, food and radiation risk.
We will undoubtedly face a harsh environment in deep space, and some thinkers have pointed to genome editing as a way to ensure humans can tolerate the harsh conditions as they venture further into the solar system.
In January I was fortunate enough to attend a much-anticipated debate between astronomer royal Lord Martin Rees and Mars exploration advocate Dr Robert Zubrin. The event at the British Interplanetary Society was on the topic of whether Mars exploration should be human or robotic.
In a recent book entitled The End of Astronauts, Lord Rees and co-author Donald Goldsmith outline the benefits of exploring the solar system using robotic spacecraft and vehicles, without the cost and risk of sending humans. Dr. Zubrin supports human exploration.
Where there was some agreement was in Rees’s plea to use gene-editing technology to enable humans to overcome the enormous challenges of becoming an interplanetary species.
Our genome is all the DNA present in our cells. Since 2011, we have been able to edit genomes easily and accurately.
First came a molecular tool called Crispr-Cas9, which today can be used in a high school laboratory at very little cost and has even been used on the International Space Station.
Then came techniques called base and prime editing, which can make tiny changes to the genome of any living organism.
The potential applications of gene editing to allow us to travel further are virtually limitless. One of the most problematic dangers astronauts will face in deep space is higher doses of radiation, which can disrupt many processes in the body and increase the risk of cancer in the longer term.
Perhaps, with the help of genome editing, we can introduce genes into humans from plants and bacteria that are able to scavenge radiation in the event of radioactive waste leakage and nuclear fallout.
It sounds like science fiction, but eminent thinkers like Lord Rees believe this is the key to our progress across the solar system.
Identifying and then introducing genes into humans that slow aging and prevent cellular breakdown could also help.
We could also develop crops that can withstand the effects of radioactivity exposure, since crews must grow their own food. We could also personalize medicine based on the needs of astronauts, based on their specific genetic makeup.
Imagine a future where the human genome is so well understood that it has become pliable under this new, personalized medicine.
Genes for extremes
Tardigrades are microscopic animals also called ‘water bears’. Experiments have shown that these tiny creatures can tolerate extreme temperatures, pressure, high radiation and hunger. They can even tolerate the vacuum of space.
Geneticists are keen to understand their genomes and a paper published in Nature sought to uncover the key genes and proteins that give the miniature creatures this extraordinary stress tolerance.
If we could introduce some of the genes involved into crops, could we make them tolerant to the highest levels of radiation and environmental stress? It’s worth exploring.
Even more intriguing is whether inserting tardigrade genes into our own genome could make us more resilient to the harsh conditions of space. Scientists have already shown that human cells in the laboratory developed a greater tolerance to X-rays when tardigrade genes were introduced into them.
Transferring genes from tardigrades is just one speculative example of how we might engineer humans and crops to make them more suitable for space travel.
We will need a lot more research if scientists ever want to reach this stage. However, in the past, several governments have been keen to impose severe restrictions on the way genome editing is used, as well as on other technologies for introducing genes from one species into another.
Germany and Canada are among the most cautious countries, but restrictions appear to be easing elsewhere.
In November 2018, Chinese scientist He Jiankui announced that he had created the first genetically modified babies. He had introduced a gene into the unborn twins that causes resistance to HIV infection.
The scientist was subsequently jailed. But he has now been released and is allowed to conduct research again.
In the new space race, some countries can go to the extreme in genome editing, while others, especially in the West where restrictions are already strict, do not. Whoever wins would reap enormous scientific and economic benefits.
If Rees and the other futurists are right, this field has the potential to further our expansion into the cosmos. But society will have to agree.
It is likely that there will be opposition, due to the deep-seated fear of forever changing the human species. And now that base and prime editing have achieved the precision of targeted gene editing, it’s clear that the technology is moving faster than the conversation.
One country or the other is likely to take the leap where others are pulling back from the precipice. Only then will we discover how viable these ideas really are. Until then, we can only speculate with curiosity, and perhaps excitement.
Sam McKee, Associate Professor and PhD Candidate in Philosophy of Science, Manchester Metropolitan University
This article is republished from The conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
