Gene editing: Time has come to engineer DNA to block transmission of inherited disorders, say scientists
9 years, 4 months ago

Gene editing: Time has come to engineer DNA to block transmission of inherited disorders, say scientists

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Banning human germline editing could put a damper on the best medical research and instead drive the practice underground to black markets and uncontrolled medical tourism, which are fraught with much greater risk and misapplication,” Professor Church said. Professor Church also dismissed fears that allowing germline gene therapy to treat inherited disorders will automatically lead down a “slippery slope” to genetic enhancement with “beneficial” traits, such as sporting prowess, intelligence or physical appearance. “Those who want to ban human germline editing should also consider that such a move would do little to allay concerns about ethically dubious attempts to enhance humans,” Professor Church said. Genome editing: What it offers: Conventional gene-therapy: clinical trials are already planned or underway to develop a “functional cure” for HIV patients using modified T-cells, as well as for a genetic blood disorder called beta-thalassaemia Germ-line gene therapy: by altering the genes of eggs or embryos, it might be possible to block the transmission of inherited diseases such as Huntington’s or muscular dystrophy to all subsequent generations within an affected family.

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History of this topic

The controversial scientist He Jiankui hasn’t given up on gene-edited babies
1 month, 1 week ago

The controversial scientist He Jiankui hasn’t given up on gene-edited babies

The Economist  

T he world was shocked in 2018 when He Jiankui, a Chinese biophysicist, announced that he had helped to produce two girls whose genetic code he had edited when they had been embryos. Scientists around the world condemned the work as wildly premature and possibly dangerous—the Chinese authorities agreed and Dr He was imprisoned for three years. And he still …

S. Africa’s new research guidelines not a green light for heritable human genome editing
3 months, 3 weeks ago

S. Africa’s new research guidelines not a green light for heritable human genome editing

Raw Story  

The recently updated South African Ethics in Health Research Guidelines have been a recent cause of concern, with some researchers and bioethicists interpreting them as allowing what’s known as heritable human genome editing. Rather than allowing heritable human genome editing, the guidelines acknowledge the reality that South African law already allows human genome editing. That this was the purpose is …

South Africa amended its research guidelines to allow for heritable human genome editing
4 months, 1 week ago

South Africa amended its research guidelines to allow for heritable human genome editing

Raw Story  

A little-noticed change to South Africa’s national health research guidelines, published in May of this year, has put the country on an ethical precipice. Alignment with the law Further, there is a significant problem with the seemingly permissive stance on heritable human genome editing entrenched in these research guidelines. Ethical concerns The question that concerns us is: why are South …

Editing fetal genomes is on the horizon. We need to talk about it now
7 months, 2 weeks ago

Editing fetal genomes is on the horizon. We need to talk about it now

Salon  

With their primary goal to advance scientific knowledge, most scientists are not trained or incentivized to think through the societal implications of the technologies they are developing. In 2015, three years after scientists discovered how to permanently edit the human genome, U.S. scientists issued a statement to halt applications of germline genome editing, a controversial type of gene editing where …

Ethical guideline issued for genome editing
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Ethical guideline issued for genome editing

China Daily  

China has issued a set of ethical rules on human genome editing, reiterating a strict ban on altering germ cells and embryos and clarifying standard ethical practices for gene editing research. "At present, any clinical research involving germline genome editing is irresponsible and not permitted," it said. Regarding clinical research involving genome editing of somatic cells — which are cells …

Guideline sets ethical rules for human genome editing research
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Guideline sets ethical rules for human genome editing research

China Daily  

China on Wednesday released a guideline that lays out a set of ethical rules for human genome editing research. Regarding clinical research involving genome editing of somatic cells — which are cells in the body other than sperm and egg cells, it said that such research should be aimed at preventing or treating diseases and should be carried out after …

For man behind gene-edited babies, a rocky return to science
2 years, 1 month ago

For man behind gene-edited babies, a rocky return to science

Associated Press  

Five years ago, scientist He Jiankui shocked his peers and the world with claims that he created the first genetically edited babies. Given He’s ambition,“I wouldn’t be surprised that a few years down the line if the opportunity arises, that he would go back” to that sort of work, said Dr. Samira Kiani, a genetic engineer and researcher at the …

Documentary spurs a new look at the case of the first gene-edited babies
2 years, 3 months ago

Documentary spurs a new look at the case of the first gene-edited babies

Salon  

In the four years since an experiment by disgraced scientist He Jiankui resulted in the birth of the first babies with edited genes, numerous articles, books and international commissions have reflected on whether and how heritable genome editing – that is, modifying genes that will be passed on to the next generation – should proceed. Creation of the 'CRISPR babies' …

Hopes and fears for the future of biomedicine
2 years, 4 months ago

Hopes and fears for the future of biomedicine

The Independent  

Advances in biomedicine have vastly improved healthcare over the world, including its poorest countries. If the relevant technologies continue to advance, there seems a real long-term prospect that human beings – their brains and their bodies – could be ‘enhanced’ via genetic and cyborg modification In addition to the distinction between curing and enhancing, many people draw a line between …

Guidelines for non-transgenic gene editing techniques pending since January 2020
3 years, 5 months ago

Guidelines for non-transgenic gene editing techniques pending since January 2020

The Hindu  

Even as the Centre investigates allegations that unauthorised genetically modified rice was exported to Europe, it is yet to decide on a research proposal from its own scientists which would allow plants to be genetically modified without the need for conventional transgenic technology. Unlike the older GM technology which involves the introduction of foreign DNA, the new proposal involves the …

Gene-editing plan ‘dark day’ for animal welfare and environment, say farming experts
4 years, 2 months ago

Gene-editing plan ‘dark day’ for animal welfare and environment, say farming experts

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Recommended Government consults on gene editing for UK farms But Peter Stevenson, chief policy adviser at the group Compassion …

Lab tests show risks of using CRISPR gene editing on embryos
4 years, 5 months ago

Lab tests show risks of using CRISPR gene editing on embryos

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A lab experiment aimed at …

Lab tests show risks of using CRISPR gene editing on embryos
4 years, 5 months ago

Lab tests show risks of using CRISPR gene editing on embryos

Associated Press  

A lab experiment aimed at fixing defective DNA in human embryos shows what can go wrong with this type of gene editing and why leading scientists say it’s too unsafe to try. “If our results had been known two years ago, I doubt that anyone would have gone ahead” and tried it on embryos intended for pregnancy, said biologist Dieter …

Gene editing, the good first and then the worries
4 years, 5 months ago

Gene editing, the good first and then the worries

The Hindu  

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2020 which was announced on October 7, Wednesday, has two women scientists as its recipients. Emmanuelle Charpentier, a French microbiologist working at the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens in Berlin, Germany, and Jennifer A. Doudna, a biochemist from the University of California, Berkeley, U.S. shared the honour “for the development of …

Too Soon to Give Green Signal to Techniques of Genome Editing for Human Embryo, Say Scientists
4 years, 6 months ago

Too Soon to Give Green Signal to Techniques of Genome Editing for Human Embryo, Say Scientists

News 18  

Techniques to genetically-edit human embryos should not be used until they are proved to be reliable and safe, an international commission said Thursday, in the wake of a scandal over gene-modified babies in China two years ago. Experts from the commission of the US National Academy of Medicine, US National Academy of Sciences, and Britain’s Royal Society said heritable genome …

Still too soon to try altering human embryo DNA, panel says
4 years, 6 months ago

Still too soon to try altering human embryo DNA, panel says

Associated Press  

It’s still too soon to try to make genetically edited babies because the science isn’t advanced enough to ensure safety, says an international panel of experts who also mapped a pathway for any countries that want to consider it. If drugs or gene therapy after birth can treat a disease, “then it doesn’t make sense to me to layer the …

It’s still too soon to try altering the DNA of human embryos, scientific panel says
4 years, 6 months ago

It’s still too soon to try altering the DNA of human embryos, scientific panel says

LA Times  

It’s still too soon to try to genetically edited human embryos because the science isn’t advanced enough to ensure safety, according to a report by an international panel of experts who also mapped a pathway for any countries that want to consider it. Thursday’s report comes nearly two years after a Chinese scientist shocked the world by revealing he’d helped …

The World Health Organization Says No More Gene-Edited Babies
55 years, 3 months ago

The World Health Organization Says No More Gene-Edited Babies

Wired  

The world’s largest public health authority has weighed in with the most authoritative statement yet on the use of Crispr to alter the DNA of human babies. Eight months after a rogue Chinese scientist revealed he had secretly created the world’s first gene-edited children, the World Health Organization is asking countries to put a stop to any experiments that would …

Another scientist is editing genes in human embryos, but ethically this time
6 years, 1 month ago

Another scientist is editing genes in human embryos, but ethically this time

Firstpost  

So far, the Columbia University scientist has allowed modified embryos to live no longer than one day. While the Columbia University scientist, Dr Dieter Egli, isn’t creating any genetically-modified babies or implanting these gene-edited embryos into mothers, he admits that the ultimate goal of his future research is probably just that. Egli is a developmental biologist currently working on genetically-modified …

Gene-edited babies: Chinese scientist was told ‘not to proceed’
6 years, 2 months ago

Gene-edited babies: Chinese scientist was told ‘not to proceed’

CNN  

CNN — As 2018 drew to a close, one scientist unveiled research that entered a new era of science. Everyone he talked to – which was not many people – had said “don’t go there,” “don’t do it,” explained Robin Lovell-Badge of the UK research facility the Francis Crick Institute, who organized the scientific summit in Hong Kong during which …

Most Americans support the use of gene editing technology to protect babies: Poll
6 years, 3 months ago

Most Americans support the use of gene editing technology to protect babies: Poll

Firstpost  

90% fear the technology will be used unethically, with 52% saying it was a very likely possibility. Jaron Keener, a 31-year-old exhibit designer at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Natural History, said he’s opposed to “rich people being able to create designer babies.” But like the majority of Americans, Keener would support gene editing in embryos to prevent incurable diseases. The …

Should India move towards germline gene editing aka genetically modified babies?
6 years, 3 months ago

Should India move towards germline gene editing aka genetically modified babies?

Firstpost  

Chinese researcher He Jiankui – who announced on YouTube in November that he successfully modified the genes of Lulu and Nana, healthy newborn twins – has taken mankind one step closer to becoming the superpower that can triumph even nature in selecting our own genes. But before we dread a future of designer children and super soldiers strutting around, we …

Gene editing: WHO panel to address complex issues
6 years, 3 months ago

Gene editing: WHO panel to address complex issues

CNN  

CNN — The World Health Organization is creating a working group to study gene editing and the complex ethical, social and safety issues the procedure raises. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director-general, discussed the challenges gene editing technologies bring and the creation of an expert panel during a press conference Monday, where he warned of the potential for “unintended consequences.” …

Gene editing experts discuss whether controversy is rushing the still-young technology
6 years, 4 months ago

Gene editing experts discuss whether controversy is rushing the still-young technology

Firstpost  

A Chinese scientist’s stunning claim he has pioneered the world’s first genetically modified baby has suddenly made the eternal debate over ethics and emerging scientific capabilities pressing and real. “It’s obvious that everything that is technically feasible is not ethically desirable,” said Cynthia Fleury, a member of the French Ethics Committee. “Trying to rush the technology” The concern of the …

What are the ethics of baby gene-editing?
6 years, 4 months ago

What are the ethics of baby gene-editing?

India Today  

Paris, Dec 1 A Chinese scientist's stunning claim he has pioneered the world's first genetically modified baby has suddenly made the eternal debate over ethics and emerging scientific capabilities pressing and real. "It's obvious that everything that is technically feasible is not ethically desirable," said Cynthia Fleury, a member of the French Ethics Committee. "Trying to rush the technology forwards, …

Genetics Summit waits for Chinese baby-editing researcher to take the stage
6 years, 4 months ago

Genetics Summit waits for Chinese baby-editing researcher to take the stage

Firstpost  

This is a great blow to China’s reputation & development of biomedical research: Chinese scientists. ‘Immediate investigation’ Qiu Renzong, formerly the vice president of the Chinese Ministry of Health’s ethics committee, told reporters at the gene editing conference that lax regulations in China mean that scientists who break the rules often face no punishment, and think of the ministry as …

China baby gene-editing scientist defends his research, raises possibility of third embryo
6 years, 4 months ago

China baby gene-editing scientist defends his research, raises possibility of third embryo

CNN  

Hong Kong CNN — The Chinese scientist who sparked an international outcry after alleging to have helped create the world’s first genetically edited babies has raised the possibility of a third child being born, after announcing that a separate woman was pregnant at an early stage with a modified embryo. He said his research has been submitted to a scientific …

Chinese scientist’s risky experiment with gene-editing babies (opinion)
6 years, 4 months ago

Chinese scientist’s risky experiment with gene-editing babies (opinion)

CNN  

Editor’s Note: Ford Vox is a physician specializing in rehabilitation medicine. But the CRISPR technique isn’t perfect, and in every few hundred cases, in what is referred to as “off-target events,” it can edit the wrong portion of DNA, potentially creating unwanted mutations. Rice’s spokesperson told me in an email that “this work as described in press reports, violates scientific …

Facing Backlash, Chinese Scientist Defends Gene-Editing Research On Babies
6 years, 4 months ago

Facing Backlash, Chinese Scientist Defends Gene-Editing Research On Babies

NPR  

Facing Backlash, Chinese Scientist Defends Gene-Editing Research On Babies Enlarge this image toggle caption Kin Cheung/AP Kin Cheung/AP Updated at 6:15 a.m. Enlarge this image toggle caption Kin Cheung/AP Kin Cheung/AP She spoke after Harvard Medical School Dean George Daley alluded to He's claims as "missteps" that he worried might set back a highly promising field of research. "Just because …

Scientists, officials in China abhor gene editing that geneticist claims
6 years, 4 months ago

Scientists, officials in China abhor gene editing that geneticist claims

Live Mint  

Beijing/Shanghai: Chinese officials and scientists denounced on Tuesday the claims of a geneticist who said he had created the first gene-edited babies, and a hospital linked to his research suggested its ethical approval had been forged. China’s Genetics Society and the Chinese Society for Stem Cell Research said in a statement He had acted as an “individual” and his work …

Chinese academic claims to have gene-edited twins
6 years, 4 months ago

Chinese academic claims to have gene-edited twins

The Hindu  

Chinese health and medical ethics authorities started an investigation on Monday into claims by a scientist who released videos on YouTube, saying he had altered the genes of twins born earlier this month, creating the first gene edited babies. The editing process, which he calls gene surgery, “worked safely as intended” and the girls are “as healthy as any other …

Q&A on scientist’s bombshell claim of gene-edited babies
6 years, 4 months ago

Q&A on scientist’s bombshell claim of gene-edited babies

Associated Press  

Designer babies might be here sooner than anyone reckoned. “This is probably the worst gene you would choose” to test in pregnancy because it doesn’t fix a disease the children were destined to get, said Shoukhrat Mitalipov of the Oregon Health & Science University, who in laboratory-only experiments studies how to repair gene defects in embryos. The researcher said he …

Chinese scientist claims world’s first gene-edited babies; hospital casts doubt
6 years, 4 months ago

Chinese scientist claims world’s first gene-edited babies; hospital casts doubt

CNN  

Hong Kong CNN — The Chinese government has ordered an “immediate investigation” into the alleged delivery of the world’s first genetically edited babies, as experts worldwide voiced outrage at such use of the technology. But in a statement posted Tuesday morning, China’s National Health Commission said that it had “immediately requested the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission to seriously investigate and …

Q&A: Why geneticists say it’s wrong to edit the DNA of embryos to protect them against HIV
6 years, 4 months ago

Q&A: Why geneticists say it’s wrong to edit the DNA of embryos to protect them against HIV

LA Times  

An embryo receives a small dose of gene-editing proteins and RNA in a sperm injection microscope in a Shenzhen laboratory. Chinese scientist He Jiankui of Shenzhen Harmonicare Women’s and Children’s Hospital revealed that he had edited the DNA in a pair of human embryos, disabling a gene required for HIV infection to take hold. He Jiankui’s claim that he helped …

Editing our genes
6 years, 6 months ago

Editing our genes

The Hindu  

American biochemist Jennifer Doudna, one of the pioneers of the gene editing tool Crispr-Cas9, woke up in a cold sweat after she dreamt of Adolf Hitler. In the book she co-authored, A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution, Doudna recounts the dream, and acknowledges the “truly incredible power” of the technology, “one that could …

Why the Gene Editors of Tomorrow Need to Study Ethics Today
6 years, 6 months ago

Why the Gene Editors of Tomorrow Need to Study Ethics Today

Wired  

Two years after biochemist Jennifer Doudna helped introduce the world to the gene-editing tool known as Crispr, a 14-year-old from New Jersey turned it loose on a petri dish full of lung cancer cells, disrupting their ability to multiply. “In high school, I was all on the Crispr bandwagon,” says Jiwoo Lee, who won top awards at the 2016 Intel …

Scared of CRISPR? 40 years on, IVF shows how fears of new medical technology can fade
6 years, 8 months ago

Scared of CRISPR? 40 years on, IVF shows how fears of new medical technology can fade

Salon  

The first “test-tube baby” made headlines around the world in 1978, setting off intense debate on the ethics of researching human embryos and reproductive technologies. So while the intense media coverage at the time helped inform the public of this new development, the insensitive labeling of Louise Brown as a “test-tube baby” and warnings about dystopian results didn’t stop Americans …

Designer babies: Picking traits for non-medical reasons could be 'morally permissible', says UK ethics group
6 years, 8 months ago

Designer babies: Picking traits for non-medical reasons could be 'morally permissible', says UK ethics group

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Letting parents use new gene-editing technology to pick characteristics of their …

How DIY gene editing could lead to a global catastrophe
6 years, 10 months ago

How DIY gene editing could lead to a global catastrophe

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, …

AP Exclusive: US scientists try 1st gene editing in the body
7 years, 4 months ago

AP Exclusive: US scientists try 1st gene editing in the body

Associated Press  

OAKLAND, Calif. — Scientists for the first time have tried editing a gene inside the body in a bold attempt to permanently change a person’s DNA to cure a disease. He met her 15 years ago in a study that tested this enzyme therapy at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, where the gene editing experiment took place. We’re just learning,” …

Scientists edit gene for blood disease in human embryos
7 years, 6 months ago

Scientists edit gene for blood disease in human embryos

CNN  

Story highlights A complex gene-editing technique was used to correct a mutation in embryos One expert describes the technique as "chemical surgery" CNN — In the future, it might be possible to prevent inherited illnesses by making a change to a single faulty gene. For the first time, scientists used a controversial gene-editing technique called base editing to correct a …

If you could edit your child's genes, would you?
7 years, 6 months ago

If you could edit your child's genes, would you?

Salon  

In early August, Nature reported that an international group of scientists used CRISPR–Cas9 gene editing technology to correct a mutation in the DNA in human embryos. Recently on Salon Talks, Dr. Alan Copperman, the director of the division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Mount Sinai Medical Center, laid out both the science and the ethical considerations. It’s Clustered Regularly …

People Back Editing Genes To Treat Disease, But Are Wary Of Inheritable Changes
7 years, 7 months ago

People Back Editing Genes To Treat Disease, But Are Wary Of Inheritable Changes

NPR  

People Back Editing Genes To Treat Disease, But Are Wary Of Inheritable Changes Enlarge this image Fotosearch/Getty Images Fotosearch/Getty Images People generally think that editing human genes might be OK, but most think that there's a clear line that shouldn't be crossed when it comes to changing traits that would be passed down to new generations, according to a survey …

The news and the noise about gene editing
7 years, 7 months ago

The news and the noise about gene editing

The Hindu  

CRISPR, the gene-editing technology and acronym for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, and CRISPR-associated protein9 have created much enthusiasm among the scientific community lately. Second, the study reduced the number of mosaics or mixed cell population; where some cells carry the defective gene while others the corrected ones, by injecting the Cas9 protein-gRNA complex into the healthy recipient egg …

Editing ourselves: On genes and ethics
7 years, 7 months ago

Editing ourselves: On genes and ethics

The Hindu  

Scientists have for the first time managed to edit genes in a human embryo to repair a genetic mutation, fuelling hopes that such procedures may one day be available outside laboratory conditions. In an attempt to remove the small portion of mutation, the researchers injected sperm of a man affected by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and the gene-editing tool called CRISPR-Cas9, that …

Here’s where experts say we should draw the line on gene-editing experiments on human embryos
7 years, 7 months ago

Here’s where experts say we should draw the line on gene-editing experiments on human embryos

LA Times  

A day after a blockbuster report that researchers had edited harmful genetic mutations out of human embryos in an Oregon lab, an international group of genetics experts urged scientists against taking the next step. In the Nature study, researchers created human embryos with a mutation in the MYBPC3 gene that causes an often fatal condition called inherited hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The …

For first time ever, scientists are able to edit DNA in human embryos through CRISPR technique!
7 years, 7 months ago

For first time ever, scientists are able to edit DNA in human embryos through CRISPR technique!

India TV News  

In a recent breakthrough, US scientists have been able to modify genes of a human embryo to correct a disease-causing mutation. "We have demonstrated the possibility to correct mutations in a human embryo in a safe way and with a certain degree of efficiency," said Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, a professor in Salk's Gene Expression Laboratory and a co-author of …

Science Says: Gene editing widely used in range of research
7 years, 7 months ago

Science Says: Gene editing widely used in range of research

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Gene editing is getting fresh attention thanks to a successful lab experiment with human embryos. _____ WHAT IS GENE EDITING While scientists have long been able to find defective genes, fixing them has been so cumbersome that it’s slowed development of genetic therapies. There are several gene editing methods, but a tool called CRISPR-Cas9 has sparked a boom …

Human embryo editing breakthrough is a ‘major advance’ towards controversial treatments for babies
7 years, 7 months ago

Human embryo editing breakthrough is a ‘major advance’ towards controversial treatments for babies

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Every generation on would carry this repair because we’ve removed the disease-causing gene variant from that family’s …

Scientists edit disease-causing gene mutation in human embryos
7 years, 8 months ago

Scientists edit disease-causing gene mutation in human embryos

CNN  

Story highlights In first-of-its-kind study, scientists describe correcting a gene mutation tied to genetic heart conditions The researchers say they could face political barriers when it comes to further studies CNN — Scientists are getting one step closer to snipping inherited genetic diseases out of human offspring using a gene-editing technique called CRISPR. For the first time, scientists said, they …

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