We Need to Talk About CRISPR

^{"The Promise and Peril of CRISPR" cover by Johns Hopkins University Press}

As a paediatrician taking care of children with sickle cell disease, Neal Baer, a Harvard Medical School graduate, was in awe of the power of CRISPR technologies. Later becoming a TV show writer (for hit shows such as ER, Law and Order, and Under the Dome), Baer realized that the promise of advanced medicine could quickly become a peril, if placed in the wrong hands. This inspired him to compile a collection of essays that asks how far could – or should – humanity develop it. The Promise and the Peril of CRISPR chronicles the human condition in the 21^st century, and asks what is more valuable: saving lives, or wielding power? Here he discusses the duality of CRISPR. 

What inspired you to compile a collection of essays about CRISPR specifically?  

There are lots of reasons. It’s important to know who has access to the data, and the DNA. Is it safe? What are the unforeseen consequences? Will there still be problems once one piece of DNA...