No red line against CRISPR’ing early embryos, experts rule
For more than a year, 22 of the world’s leading geneticists, bioethicists, physicians, and legal scholars have been wrestling with thorny questions posed by the revolutionary advances in scientists’ ability to edit the human genome.
On Tuesday the experts, convened by the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine, released their report. One of the most noteworthy conclusions: The supposed agreement that it’s unethical to tinker with the genomes of human eggs, sperm, and early embryos — so-called “germline” editing? Not so much.
Are “designer babies” nigh? What about CRISPR therapies? And what does the report leave out? Here’s your cheat sheet…
