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  • OUTLOOK

A genetically augmented future

Gene therapy could one day be used for bodily enhancement, creating an ethical minefield for physicians, says Ellen Wright Clayton.
  1. Ellen Wright Clayton

    1. Ellen Wright Clayton studies medical ethics and health policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

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The year is 2030. Gene therapy to insert the DNA sequence for dystrophin has been approved by regulators and is commonly used in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a disorder linked to the X chromosome. Evidence shows that the intervention increases muscle mass in anyone who receives it. The treatment is widely available, but very expensive.

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Nature 564, S9 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-07642-0

This article is part of Nature Outlook: Gene therapy, an editorially independent supplement produced with the financial support of third parties. About this content.

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