Genetic Pain Surgery with Molecular Scissors?

The advent of CRISPR/Cas9 and other modern gene-editing technologies has opened up unprecedented possibilities for modifying research animals. Following this technological progress, the possibility of genetically disenhancing animals’ ability to feel pain and pain-related suffering (hereafter referred to as “GPD” for genetic pain disenhancement) is currently being discussed as an innovative and potentially powerful solution to mitigate the ethical challenges of animal research, farm animal husbandry, and, ultimately, the suffering of wild animals. The idea of altering research animals and livestock to enable specific uses by humans emerged during the 1980s and 1990s. The fundamental concept is to adapt the phenotype of an animal so that it is better suited to life in the (otherwise harmful) conditions associated with specific uses, such as animal experimentation or meat production. With reference to the latest biotechnological developments and the advancement of genome-editing methods, Dr Samuel Camenzind’s lecture will address the current state…