Should We Alter the Human Genome? Let Democracy Decide
By Krishanu Saha, J. Benjamin Hurlbut & Sheila Jasanoff,
Scientific American
| 01. 15. 2020
We need greater scientific and moral clarity on germ line editing.
In November 2018, a Chinese scientist, He Jiankui, caused an international uproar by announcing the birth of two babies whose DNA he had edited using a tool called CRISPR-Cas9. Human germline genome editing—that is, making precise changes in human DNA that can be passed down through generations—has been seen for decades as a line that should not be crossed. This past December, He was sentenced to three years in prison for carrying out an “illegal medical practice.”
Yet, as the Chinese experiment shows, the state of technology no longer bars those who are willing to cross it. He’s experiment was a profound scientific and ethical misstep. Not only did he do it before adequate preparatory studies had been undertaken, but he acted unilaterally, deploying a technology with the potential to affect deeply held beliefs about human life all around the planet. His experiment set a dangerous example for other overly eager scientists. In mid-2019, a Russian scientist proposed a similar experiment.
We cannot blame lax oversight on China alone. The scientist who carried out the controversial first experiment in China...
Related Articles
By Carl Zimmer, The New York Times | 06.04.2026
Scientists at Columbia University have edited the DNA of early human embryos with unprecedented accuracy, an achievement that could open the way to babies engineered with particular characteristics.
The prospect has fueled controversy for years. On the one hand, the...
Faster, Higher, Stronger was the Olympic motto from 1874 until 2001, when “ – Together” was added, to stress the “moral and educational perspective” of the Games. The folks who paid for or participated in the Enhanced Games – the name itself a nod to the Olympics – held in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 24, apparently use a different edit:
Faster, Higher, Stronger with Chemistry
High-level sport draws huge crowds. Coming very soon, the soccer World Cup, featuring...
By Gina Kolata, The New York Times | 05.25.2026
In a small, preliminary study, an experimental gene-editing treatment dramatically lowered cholesterol levels, perhaps permanently, after just one infusion, scientists reported on Monday.
If confirmed in larger studies, researchers hope the findings may lead to a one-and-done way to prevent...
By Ryan Cross, Endpoint News | 05.20.2026
BOSTON — Over the past year, I’ve begun hearing rumblings from scientists who secretly think it’s time to stop being stodgy about editing the genes of human embryos.
For the most part, they are still too timid to speak up...
