Genome editing is on the cutting edge of science. It’s also morally questionable and possibly illegal in many jurisdictions. Despite that, a Chinese scientist announced that he edited the genomes of two human embryos to make them resistant to HIV. He had implanted these embryos in their mother, who gave birth to healthy twin girls. Dr. Iris Thiele Isip Tan noted this development with trepidation. She is an endocrinologist and clinical associate professor at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine. Tan noted that the scientist used CRISPR/Cas9, which according to yourgenome.org is the “most common, cheap and efficient…...
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Rogue genome editing twists DNA ethics
5 min read
Genome editing is on the cutting edge of science. It’s also morally questionable and possibly illegal in many jurisdictions. Despite that, a Chinese scientist announced that he edited the genomes of two human embryos to make them resistant to HIV. He had implanted these embryos in their mother, who gave birth to healthy twin girls. Dr. Iris Thiele Isip Tan noted this development with trepidation. She is an endocrinologist and clinical associate professor at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine. Tan noted that the scientist used CRISPR/Cas9, which according to yourgenome.org is the “most common, cheap and efficient…...