International Reporting Mechanism for Unethical Germline Gene Editing Experiments Is Needed
By G. Owen Schaefer, Markus K. Labude, Yujia Zhu, Roger Sik-Yin Foo, Vicki Xafis,
Trends in Biotechnology
| 11. 04. 2020
The 2018 revelation of the birth of the first babies whose DNA had been edited shocked the world and was met almost instantly with condemnation from scientists, ethicists, and policymakers around the world [1] (Box 1). The news was not a shock to quite everyone, however. A recent article reveals that a large number of individuals around the world knew about the experiment, in one form or another, before the news broke internationally [2]. He Jiankui, who led the experiment, had built up an international network of collaborators for several of his biotechnology ventures and at various stages communicated progress of his experiment to international colleagues. Some now say they tried to discourage him, but none made known the ongoing experiment to the broader international community.
In this article, we argue that revealing such activities is in line with scientists’ responsibilities to uphold the integrity and trustworthiness of the scientific enterprise. However, the international context complicates the situation; it is not clear whom individuals who knew about the experiment should have approached. To fill...
Related Articles
The Center for Genetics and Society is delighted to recommend the current edition of GMWatch Review – Number 589. UK-based GMWatch, a long-standing ally, was founded in 1998 by Jonathan Matthews as an independent organization seeking to counter the enormous corporate political power and propaganda of the GMO industry and its supporters. Matthews and Claire Robinson are its directors and managing editors.
CGS works to ensure that social justice, equity, human rights, and democratic governance are front...
If you’ve been online or caught the news in the past few weeks, you’ve probably come across Sydney Sweeney, her “great genes jeans,” and much debate over whether they reflect a resurgence of eugenics in American politics and culture.
In case you missed it, here’s what happened. At the end of July, US-based clothing company American Eagle released a new ad campaign. In one ad, Sweeney breathily recites the following, while lying back to zip up her jeans:
Genes are...
By Ryan Cross, Endpoints News | 08.19.2025
Human eggs are incredibly rare cells. The ovary typically produces only 400 mature eggs across a woman’s life. But biologists in George Church’s lab at Harvard University — a group that’s never content with nature’s limits — just got a...
By Staff, National Women's Law Center | 08.13.2025
INTRODUCTION
Baby bonuses. Motherhood medals. Fertility tracking. You may have heard of these policy proposals as solutions from the Trump administration to help encourage women to have more children.
Besides falling short of ensuring that people have what they need...