Summary
Unnatural Selection Season 1, Episode 4, “Our Next Generation” ends the Netflix Limited series with a lot of questions for the future of gene editing.
This recap of Netflix Series Unnatural Selection Season 1, Episode 4, “Our Next Generation” contains information regarding the episode. You can read the recap of the previous episode by clicking these words.
Episode 4 has two core stories but I can’t help but thinking the Netflix series marks off the limited series with a message — we just are not there yet. Josiah Zayner and his friend, well-known biohackers, are deep in thought in “Our Next Generation” — sounding more like the protestors than the embracers in some aspects of the chapter. Zayner believes people should have the ability to hack genes, but at the same time, not force it on others. A moral compass that must be difficult to achieve, especially for someone who is not against a world where everyone is beautiful and attractive.
Tristan is flagrantly getting used by Ascendance, despite the amount of investment going into his treatment. He has been warned throughout this limited series that there is little data that is producing this program, and it could, in fact, make him resistant to future treatments for his HIV. I’ve never been comfortable with Tristan’s story, who has been blatantly used as a lab-rat for a seemingly ambitious business person. It’s business over cure, and that’s a dangerous game.
The fact is, the last episode of the series confirmed it’s an evolving science, gene-editing, but we are nowhere near making it into a mainstream trend.
Episode 4, “Our Next Generation” explores the three-person baby, a method that I did not know even existed until I watched Unnatural Selection. A three-person baby is created by pronuclear transfer technology and a Ukrainian lab presents the method. I’m not even going to for a second try and describe how this three-person baby works, but if that’s our next world, then it’s going to get very confusing — it basically requires receiving the mitochondrial DNA from a third party. The docuseries debates whether the manipulation of the embryo is ethical, choosing a person’s eye color and other elements before they are even born. We have already heard of the term “designer babies”. IVF is changing into a whole new ball game in the future.
We also get an update on Jackson, who is having his eyes genetically changed. Episode 4, “Our Next Generation” shows the bravery he went through via surgery and the results of his new eyes. His vision markedly improved, proving the science can work when applied properly. The relief for the family is apparent. My only issue with the whole scenario is how will this be made affordable to other children in the future?
Unnatural Selection Season 1, Episode 4, “Our Next Generation” ends the Netflix series sitting on the fence. It does not stretch over the line whatsoever, keeping it completely neutral on the future of gene-editing.
It’s inevitable though, isn’t it? Humans cannot help themselves.
