The population problem

This defence mechanism works in many different types of bacteria, but in 2012, scientists figured out how to hijack CRISPR to target any DNA in almost any organism! In the lab, the scientists first design a “guide” RNA to match the gene they want to edit. They then attach the “guide” RNA to Cas9 which tells Cas9 which gene to target. Cas9 then snips the DNA which matches the “guide” . Just by attaching this “guide” RNA to Cas9, scientists can practically edit any gene in the genome. After the DNA has been cut the cell tries to repair itself by trimming the broken ends and joining them back together. This type of repair process is called nonhomologous end joining and is apparently prone to mistakes such as extra or missing bases. This makes the gene unusable and usually gets turned off. However, if scientists add in a DNA template, the proteins can carry out homology directed repair. This guide allows the rebuilding process of a defective gene or even creation of an entirely new one. Although CRISPR is such an amazing tool, it does not always make the exact changes that we want. This makes it difficult to predict some of the long term effects that CRISPR gene editing will have and raises a lot of questions about what is ethically right and wrong. But, we should always try and explore further into the science behind things and this tool is potentially the key to creating cures for the genetic diseases putting many lives in danger.

By Katherine Marriott Year 10 Scientists have spent decades pondering on how we can solve the world’s population problem. Many questions arise when answering this, is it better to have overpopulation or underpopulation? Can we really solve this problem?In the world we live in today, there are numerous problems in the field of earth's population. From insect colonisation of habitats, to poor living conditions, population can influence quality of life on any spectrum. A historical example of the problem with a country having a large population would have to be China’s infamous one child policy, which remains to be a staple in discussions on population, mainly due to the economic, social and political consequences. By 1949, China’s government sporadically began promoting family planning and the use of birth control, until after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976. Around this time China’s population was close to the 1 billion benchmark, but then under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, pragmatic steps were taken to “solve the population problem” , in 1978 a voluntary program was introduced, with the aim to encourage families to have no more than two children. This escalated in 1979 the demand grew for families to stick to one child, however this policy was nationalised in 1980 on the 25th of September in the form of a public letter published by the central

committee of the Chinese communist party. Although there were several exceptions, this policy was applied universally (implemented more harshly in urban environments, if the first-born child was handicapped). Contraceptives were offered, and citizens who complied were treated better, and those who wouldn’t follow the rules were forced to have abortions and recieve sterilisations (primarily women). Subsequently, there were many consequences that went beyond the goal of reducing the population. The most notable reprecution is the sex ratio. There were between 3 and 4 percent more males than females living in China, as a result of males being the more prefereable sex and females being frequently aborted or adopted into families overseas. This proved to be a problem as this became difficult as there were fewer females available for marriage. Another major problem was the glowing elderly population which relied on the younger generations to survive. The amount of people hidden from the government grew massively, although the exact number is not known, it is estimated to be around the hundreds of thousands to millions. This program came to an end in 2015, though the consequences left an impact for much longer. The dilemma of having an overcrowded population is that quality of life is almost always compromised and later deteriorates into poverty. As the population increases, the per capita income decreases, which means that the country and its government is not able to supply all of its inhabitants with supplies and essentials that may be needed. Unemployment also proves to be one of the biggest problems in an area of high population, because there is not enough demand for workers, which ultimately causes the low GDP per capita. Overpopulation can also cause problems such as hunger, poverty, water scarcity and

political instability. Similarly Underpopulation is not positive either. In an underpopulated society, there is not enough labour and there is an over demand, this leads to job positions not being filled and products not being made, leading to a general lower quality and fewer luxuries in production and circulation. Taxes would be very difficult to obtain and collect as there becomes the concept of “strength in numbers” and in a society with very few members it would be difficult to provide basic necessities. There are also biological factors such as low genetic variation, which means the communities would not be able to fight off diseases and viruses, and if a pandemic were to occur, they would not be able to handle it. In conclusion, the only decent way to solve a population problem is to maintain the rate of the growth of the population. The approach that China took in the 1970s was authoritarian and anti-democratic, an approach that would not be taken lightly in the western world. Many faiths and religions would be against practises such as abortion, and many would morally object too. The solution to the population problem would not be a simple one to solve, as in some parts of the world overpopulation is the key issue and in others it is underpopulation. To solve the problem you would have to take it on a case by case basis, in the occurrence of a society being overpopulated, the most prominent routes to take would have to be contraception, encouraging abstinence, and scientific focus on decreasing infant mortality. In conclusion, the path to solving the population problem is not looking at the problem generally, but rather more specifically and seeing if a certain country’s economy would be able to handle the process.

Sources

● Brittania.com, Wikipedia