In a poll on CRISPR, respondents so far have predominantly viewed potential off-target effects as a moderate (28%) to substantial (25%) problem.
The poll is still running if you are interested in participating.
As to the more polar answers, only 20% and 4% answered “minor” or “a non-issue”, respectively, while 14% thought that off-target effects would be a “severe” problem.
Respondents from 29 countries participated. Most countries fit with the overall pattern of votes. However, those in the UK, Australia, and Singapore, were relatively more concerned about off-target effects.
If, as is expected based on current trends, CRISPR technology continues to rapidly improve and more data are produced indicating that subsequent next generation versions have substantially improved accuracy (e.g. already the nickase system is proven more accurate), it’ll be interesting to run the poll again.
Interesting observations.