Crispr Is Getting Better. Now It's Time to Ask the Hard Ethical Questions
9 years, 3 months ago

Crispr Is Getting Better. Now It's Time to Ask the Hard Ethical Questions

Wired  

When Chinese scientists announced in April they had edited human embryos using a new genetic tool called Crispr, the headlines blared “designer babies,” and the world woke up to Crispr’s power. Today, on the first day of an international summit on human gene editing in Washington, DC, MIT researchers announced that they have tweaked a Crispr protein to reduce those off-target effects. As long as Crispr creates too many off-target mutations, it’s easy to assert that the technology is not predictable, and that editing human embryos is therefore not ethical. Of the five steps Crispr co-inventor Jennifer Doudna recently proposed in Nature for oversight of human gene editing, the first is adopting standards for measuring efficiency and off-target effects.

Gene Dna Human Mit Embryos Rna Crispr Cas9 Human Embryos  mutations  gene  better  embryos  getting  hard  editing  concerns  crispr  ethical  cas9  ask  questions  dna  human  offtarget

History of this topic

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

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 …

With CRISPR poised to revolutionise therapy, a pause to consider ethical issues
1 year, 1 month ago

With CRISPR poised to revolutionise therapy, a pause to consider ethical issues

The Hindu  

“We will each write a ghost story”, said Lord Byron; and his proposition was acceded to. With the first gene editing technology securing approval for the treatment of sickle cell anemia and beta-thalassemia, we transcend into a new revolutionary phase. Casgevy and Lyfgenia, the two cell-based gene therapies approved by the Food and Drug Administration for sickle cell anemia treatment …

CRISPR Scientist's Biography Explores Ethics Of Rewriting The Code Of Life
4 years ago

CRISPR Scientist's Biography Explores Ethics Of Rewriting The Code Of Life

NPR  

CRISPR Scientist's Biography Explores Ethics Of Rewriting The Code Of Life Enlarge this image toggle caption Nick Otto/The Washington Post via Getty Images Nick Otto/The Washington Post via Getty Images The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are the first vaccines to be activated by mRNA — and would not have been possible without the invention of the gene editing technology …

CRISPR gene editing can cause unwanted changes in human embryos, study finds
4 years, 4 months ago

CRISPR gene editing can cause unwanted changes in human embryos, study finds

Firstpost  

Instead of addressing genetic mutations, the CRISPR-Cas9 technology appeared to wreak genetic havoc in about half the specimens that the researchers examined A powerful gene-editing tool called CRISPR-Cas9, which this month nabbed the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for two female scientists, can cause serious side effects in the cells of human embryos, prompting them to discard large chunks of their …

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 …

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 …

Scientists claim to have uses CRISPR for the first time to treat a patient who was blind
5 years ago

Scientists claim to have uses CRISPR for the first time to treat a patient who was blind

Firstpost  

They said that it will take up to a month to see if this surgery worked and has restored the patient’s vision. Scientists say they have used the gene-editing tool CRISPR inside someone’s body for the first time, a new frontier for efforts to operate on DNA, the chemical code of life, to treat diseases. “We think it could open …

Scientists Attempt Controversial Experiment To Edit DNA In Human Sperm Using CRISPR
5 years, 7 months ago

Scientists Attempt Controversial Experiment To Edit DNA In Human Sperm Using CRISPR

NPR  

Scientists Attempt Controversial Experiment To Edit DNA In Human Sperm Using CRISPR Enlarge this image toggle caption Elias Williams for NPR Elias Williams for NPR First it was human embryos. "It doesn't matter whether you're manipulating the embryo or you're manipulating the sperm," says Françoise Baylis, a bioethicist at Dalhousie University in Canada, who is advising the World Health Organization …

The World Health Organization Says No More Gene-Edited Babies
55 years, 2 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 …

CRISPR used to treat two human cancer patients for the first time in UPenn study
5 years, 11 months ago

CRISPR used to treat two human cancer patients for the first time in UPenn study

Firstpost  

Gene-editing technology CRISPR is finally moving out laboratories and into clinical settings around the world. Three years after have passed since the National Institute of Health gave a research team at the University of Pennsylvania the green-light to begin trials for gene-editing technology CRISPR in humans. Researchers at UPenn have used CRISPR to treat two cancer patients so far, the …

First U.S. Patients Treated With CRISPR As Human Gene-Editing Trials Get Underway
5 years, 11 months ago

First U.S. Patients Treated With CRISPR As Human Gene-Editing Trials Get Underway

NPR  

Patients Treated With CRISPR As Human Gene-Editing Trials Get Underway Enlarge this image toggle caption Molekuul/Getty Images/Science Photo Library Molekuul/Getty Images/Science Photo Library The powerful gene-editing technique called CRISPR has been in the news a lot. Sponsor Message Research News Scientists Plan To Start Human Trials Testing CRISPR Soon Scientists Plan To Start Human Trials Testing CRISPR Soon 4:30 One …

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 …

Crispr Babies, IVF, and the Ethics of Genetic Class Warfare
6 years, 3 months ago

Crispr Babies, IVF, and the Ethics of Genetic Class Warfare

Wired  

Last month, Chinese national He Jiankui flouted a vigorous scientific debate when he told a room full of scientists that he had manipulated the embryos of Chinese twins, using Crispr, and made one resistant to their father’s HIV. In The Washington Post, Eileen Hunt Botting wrote that He’s experiment had “no moral or scientific justification, given that the medical profession …

Gene editing experts discuss whether controversy is rushing the still-young technology
6 years, 3 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, 3 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, …

CRISPR: The genetic editing tool that holds promise & peril
6 years, 4 months ago

CRISPR: The genetic editing tool that holds promise & peril

Live Mint  

Chinese researcher He Jiankui has claimed that he used CRISPR to produce the world’s first “designer babies”. Jiankui said he used CRISPR—Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats—to alter the genes of a pair of twins while they were embryos to make the babies resistant to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. In 2017, a US science and medicine advisory group …

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 …

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 …

Inventor of CRISPR calls for a global moratorium on gene-edited embryos, humans
6 years, 4 months ago

Inventor of CRISPR calls for a global moratorium on gene-edited embryos, humans

Firstpost  

The risks of such an experiment are still far greater than its benefits, Zhang said in a statement. A Harvard and MIT member, renowned genetic research Feng Zhang made the statement after a Chinese researcher claimed having helped create the world’s first babies with modified genes using CRISPR. The researcher claiming to have contributed to the success of the gene-editing …

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 …

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 …

Gene editing of human embryos in UK reveals new fertility clue
7 years, 6 months ago

Gene editing of human embryos in UK reveals new fertility clue

CNN  

Story highlights UK scientists have edited human embryos for the first time A key gene has been identified that helps determine the healthy development of human embryos CNN — The DNA of human embryos has been altered and studied for the first time in the UK, offering new insight into the early stages of human development. “We were surprised to …

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 …

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 …

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 Precisely Edit DNA In Human Embryos To Fix A Disease Gene
7 years, 7 months ago

Scientists Precisely Edit DNA In Human Embryos To Fix A Disease Gene

NPR  

Scientists Precisely Edit DNA In Human Embryos To Fix A Disease Gene Enlarge this image toggle caption Courtesy of OHSU Courtesy of OHSU Scientists have been tinkering with the DNA in humans and other living things for decades. "If irresponsible scientists are not stopped, the world may soon be presented with a fait accompli of the first baby," says David …

Report: Scientists edit human embryos for first time in US
7 years, 8 months ago

Report: Scientists edit human embryos for first time in US

CNN  

Story highlights A first in the US, scientists reportedly edit the genes of human embryos using CRISPR Yet the research hasn't been published and researchers remain tight-lipped CNN — America reportedly has moved ahead in a controversial race to tinker with human DNA – but the scientific feat is shrouded in unanswered questions. “I’m not surprised that they were looking …

Crispr May Cure All Genetic Disease—One Day
7 years, 9 months ago

Crispr May Cure All Genetic Disease—One Day

Wired  

Jennifer Doudna was sitting in her UC Berkeley office when she got the first call from a reporter asking what she thought about scientists using Crispr to modify embryos. Doudna said it was exactly this possibility—Crispr custom-designed human offspring—that made her take a step back from her own research and get involved in public discussions around the technology. "I think …

Crispr's Next Big Debate: How Messy Is Too Messy?
7 years, 9 months ago

Crispr's Next Big Debate: How Messy Is Too Messy?

Wired  

When it comes to Crispr, the bacterial wünderenzyme that allows scientists to precisely edit DNA, no news is too small to stir up some drama. The ensuing headlines were gleefully apocalyptic: “Crispr May Not Be Nearly as Precise as We Thought,” “Crack in Crispr Facade after Unanticipated In Vivo Mutations Arise,” and my personal favorite, “Small Study Finds Fatal Flaw …

Crispr Makes It Clear: The US Needs a Biology Strategy, and Fast
7 years, 10 months ago

Crispr Makes It Clear: The US Needs a Biology Strategy, and Fast

Wired  

Biology has emerged as one of the most important technology platforms of the 21st century. With the arrival of the gene-editing technology Crispr, biology will soon converge with everyday medicine, big agriculture, and artificial intelligence to influence the future of all life on our planet. I spent the entire meeting sitting next to Feng Zhang, who at that time, along …

An unedited mutation
8 years ago

An unedited mutation

The Hindu  

Whenever there’s progress in the field of genetics, there’s cause for worry. It can be used to target specific stretches of genetic code and to edit DNA at precise locations, permanently modify genes in living cells and organisms, and possibly correct disease-causing mutations. According to the New Scientist, the team has corrected genetic mutations in a few cells in three …

U.S. Scientists Urge 'Serious Consideration' Of Gene Editing In Human Embryos
8 years, 1 month ago

U.S. Scientists Urge 'Serious Consideration' Of Gene Editing In Human Embryos

Huff Post  

Science Photo Library - ZEPHYR via Getty Images CHICAGO - Powerful gene editing tools may one day be used on human embryos, eggs and sperm to remove genes that cause inherited diseases, according to a report by U.S. scientists and ethicists released on Tuesday. The report from the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine said scientific …

To prevent serious medical conditions, scientists should be able to edit people’s DNA, panel says
8 years, 1 month ago

To prevent serious medical conditions, scientists should be able to edit people’s DNA, panel says

LA Times  

Scientists should be allowed to alter a person’s DNA in ways that will be passed on to future generations, but only to prevent serious and strongly heritable diseases, according to a new report from the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine. As such, the National Academies’ report acknowledges that changing heritable DNA in eggs, sperm and …

Gene editing: Should we be worried? (Opinion)
9 years, 1 month ago

Gene editing: Should we be worried? (Opinion)

CNN  

Editor’s Note: Robert Klitzman is a professor of psychiatry and director of the Masters of Bioethics Program at Columbia University. Story highlights British researchers last week given OK to use gene editing on human embryos Robert Klitzman: Tampering with nature undoubtedly has perils but also has big potential benefits CNN — Every week, I get unsolicited email ads from airlines, …

The UK Just Green-Lit Crispr Gene Editing in Human Embryos
9 years, 1 month ago

The UK Just Green-Lit Crispr Gene Editing in Human Embryos

Wired  

This story does not meet WIRED's journalistic standards as it reproduces material published elsewhere. Yesterday, UK fertility regulators gave the green light to gene editing in viable human embryos---a controversial first step toward what some see as a future of designer babies. While the UK might be pushing the boundaries of fertility research, at least it has a regulatory body …

UK scientists get green light to genetically modify human embryos
9 years, 1 month ago

UK scientists get green light to genetically modify human embryos

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 Scientists in the UK will be allowed to genetically modify human …

Debating the ethics of human gene editing
9 years, 3 months ago

Debating the ethics of human gene editing

The Hindu  

Rewriting your DNA is getting closer to reality. It’s a question that gained urgency after Chinese researchers made the first attempt at editing genes in human embryos, a laboratory experiment that didn’t work well but did raise the prospect of one day altering human heredity passing modified DNA to future generations. At issue are tools to edit precisely genes inside …

Gene editing: Time has come to engineer DNA to block transmission of inherited disorders, say scientists
9 years, 3 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 …

This Technology Can Fight Cancer And Create Adorable Mini Pigs. So Why Are Scientists So Worried?
9 years, 4 months ago

This Technology Can Fight Cancer And Create Adorable Mini Pigs. So Why Are Scientists So Worried?

Huff Post  

As any number of magazine articles and news stories from recent months have noted, we are in the midst of a major genetic revolution. This week, Scientific American shone a spotlight on China’s “bold push” into the world of genetically customized animals -- and the mounting ethical quandaries that follow. As Arthur Caplan, a professor of bioethics at New York …

Stem cell experts urge ethical debate over embryo creation
9 years, 5 months ago

Stem cell experts urge ethical debate over embryo creation

ABC  

The very real possibility of creating embryos from stem cells raises ethical issues that need to be debated now, scientists say. Pluripotent stem cells, which are able to become any cell in the body, provide scientists with an unprecedented opportunity to study early human development and could possibly help in the creation of organs for transplant. Last year, scientists showed …

Will DNA-editing CRISPR change medicine?
9 years, 7 months ago

Will DNA-editing CRISPR change medicine?

CNN  

Story highlights CRISPR technique for editing genes may eventually be used to single out and destroy genes that cause disease Editas, already developing CRISPR-based therapies, recently received a large investment to expand its research CNN — A popular new gene therapy technology could help treat cataracts, liver disease, muscular dystrophy and other conditions. Editas Medicine, a biotech company in Cambridge, …

America Needs to Figure Out the Ethics of Gene Editing Now
9 years, 11 months ago

America Needs to Figure Out the Ethics of Gene Editing Now

Wired  

In an international first, researchers in China have reported doing experiments that involve editing the genome of a human embryo. In the research, published a week ago in the journal Protein and Cell, the scientists used a powerful new DNA-editing method called CRISPR/Cas9 to replace the genes that cause a potentially deadly blood disorder. Within the past few months, several …

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