Human Genetic Modification
Human genetic modification (or “gene editing”) can be used in two very different ways. Somatic genome editing changes the genes in a patient’s cells to treat a medical condition. A few gene therapies are approaching clinical use but remain extraordinarily expensive.
By contrast, heritable genome editing would change genes in eggs, sperm, or early embryos to try to control the traits of a future child. Such alterations would affect every cell of the resulting person and all subsequent generations.
For safety, ethical, and social reasons, heritable genome editing is widely considered unacceptable. It is prohibited in 70 countries and by a binding international treaty. Nevertheless, in 2018 one scientist announced the birth of twins whose embryos he had edited. This reckless experiment intensified debate between advocates of heritable genome editing and those concerned it could exacerbate inequality and lead to a new, market-based eugenics.
Genome editing is a way of making changes to specific parts of a genome. Scientists have been able to alter DNA...
Public and policy conversations about heritable human genome editing often leave the impression that rules governing it are few and...
View a recording of the February 25, 2021 event sponsored by the San Francisco Asian Art Museum:
With film clips and discussion, this DEAI series workshop explores a dangerous idea that has threatened the American Dream from the beginning: the belief that some groups and individuals are inherently superior to others and more deserving of fundamental rights. View excerpts from the 2018 documentary “A Dangerous Idea,” which reveals how biologically determined politics has disenfranchised women and people of color and provided a rationale for state-sanctioned crimes committed against America’s most vulnerable citizens, and discuss the meaning, use, and misuse of gene science. With UC Berkeley bioethicist and Center for Genetics and Society senior fellow Osagie K. Obasogie, Marcy Darnovsky, executive director at the Center for Genetics and Society, and “A Dangerous Idea” filmmaker Stephanie Welch. Moderated by Milton Reynolds.
On January 29, 2020, Marcy Darnovsky spoke to an audience of 600 in Santa Barbara at TEDxLagunaBlanca. Her talk was titled, “Use Gene Editing to Treat Patients, Not Design Babies.”
Rosemarie Garland-Thompson discusses "Biomedical Ethics and the Existential Threat to Persons with Disabilities" at the Columbia Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
This debate looks at the long-term challenges and opportunities CRISPR presents, looking closely at two particular consequences: the implications of gene editing on global inequality, and its risk to evolution. The three speakers are: Katie Hasson, policy advocate; Jamie Metzl, futurist and geopolitical expert and author; and Julian Savulescu, philosopher, bioethicist, and author.
Bill McKibben and john a. powell came discuss the “Climate Crisis, Designer Babies, and Our Common Future.” The event was moderated by Osagie K. Obasogie, Professor of Bioethics at UC Berkeley.