Thinking About CRISPR:The Ethics of Human Genome Editing

摘要

The innovation highway is paved with good intentions and noble quests, yet one rogue scientist can selfishly threaten to tarnish the reputation of an entire community and halt the progress of a rising technology. As innovators blaze new technologicaltrails and forge new therapeutic paths, some scientists can go astray and force the broader community to set guardrails, (re)direct traffic and establish speed limits as we define the pathway for human genome editing. Some major speedbumps have been proposed around germline genome editing (GGE), following the international uproar stemming from the experiments reported by Dr. He Jiankui last year. Several leading names in the CRISPR community have even called for a (temporary) global moratorium.