We’re on the cusp of a gene editing revolution, are we ready?
By Editorial,
New Scientist
| 07. 27. 2016
THERE’S a certain breed of techno-optimist who likes to talk about “the singularity” – a time when technology progresses so rapidly that life is transformed beyond recognition. The driving force of this hypothetical event is artificial intelligence, but biotech plays a key role too.
...
But there are dangers ahead – not least the science outpacing public consent. Two teams in China have already tried to engineer human embryos. That seems unnecessarily hasty given the ethical issues it raises.
Those who work on CRISPR have a duty to consider not just the science but also how it will be received. As yet, CRISPR has hardly registered in public debate.
Image via Pixabay
Related Articles
By Katherine Long, Ben Foldy, and Lingling Wei, The Wall Street Journal | 12.13.2025
Inside a closed Los Angeles courtroom, something wasn’t right.
Clerks working for family court Judge Amy Pellman were reviewing routine surrogacy petitions when they spotted an unusual pattern: the same name, again and again.
A Chinese billionaire was seeking parental...
By David Jensen, The California Stem Cell Report | 12.11.2025
California’s stem cell and gene therapy agency today approved spending $207 million more on training and education, sidestepping the possibility of using the cash to directly support revolutionary research that has been slashed and endangered by the Trump administration.
Directors...
By Sarah Kliff, The New York Times | 12.10.2025
Micah Nerio had known since his early 30s that he wanted to be a father, even if he did not have a partner. He spent a decade saving up to pursue surrogacy, an expensive process where he would create embryos...
Several recent Biopolitical Times posts (1, 2, 3, 4) have called attention to the alarmingly rapid commercialization of “designer baby” technologies: polygenic embryo screening (especially its use to purportedly screen for traits like intelligence), in vitro gametogenesis (lab-made eggs and sperm), and heritable genome editing (also termed embryo editing or reproductive gene editing). Those three, together with artificial wombs, have been dubbed the “Gattaca stack” by Brian Armstrong, CEO of the cryptocurrency company...