Gene-edited humans increasingly likely — public supportive, ethics unclear
Since CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing emerged in the early 2010s, the prospect of genetically altered "designer babies" has grown more urgent. While 70 countries, including the UK, ban human germline editing, new studies using the more precise "base editing" technique on embryos — legal in the UK and US for research — and new polling suggest the public increasingly views such technology as likely and even desirable. Commentators warn the ethical conversation must go beyond safety and address potential darker uses.
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Polling shows that the public supports this new technology, but the conversation must move beyond simple questions of safety
Ever since Crispr-Cas9 gene-editing technology emerged in the early 2010s, ethical questions around genetically altered humans, so-called designer babies, have become increasingly urgent. There is already a worldwide legal prohibition. No country currently allows human germline editing (meaning genetic changes to an embryo that could also be passed on to its children), and 70 have laws against it , including the UK. But a series of recent discoveries and a new poll suggest that scientists and the public believe gene-edited humans are likely – even desirable – in the near future.
Two new studies use base editing – a more precise next-generation Crispr tool – on human embryos to study early development or disease (this research is legal in the UK and US as long as the embryos are destroyed within 14 days). The lead author of one study, Dieter Egli, said that the technology wasn’t yet ready for the clinic, but the advances would “guide responsible research to achieve its ultimate safe and effective use”. This encapsulates the view of many scientists, who believe the regulated use of germline editing to eradicate hereditary conditions is inevitable, and the main objection is around safety.
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