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Chinese authorities confirmed last week that a scientist there is responsible for the first "gene editing" of human babies.
I don't understand the deep science here, but I take it that by altering a baby's DNA scientists believe they can prevent bad health outcomes.
But will this "gene editing" have unintended consequence? Could it even create a demand for designer babies, genetically altered to have more-desirable traits?
In the China case, a rogue, fame-seeking scientist is said to have "genetically altered the DNA of twin girls at conception" last year to help them resist infection with the AIDS virus. Reports are that the twins' father had tested positive at some point for HIV/AIDS.
It's bothersome that scientists are messing around with the building blocks of human existence in unborn babies. This China story feels like the opening act of a science-fiction movie.
The Associated Press reports that gene editing for the purpose of human reproduction is banned in the United States and much of Europe. Few scientists in the Western world, it seems, are ready ethically to proceed down...