Search Results for: doudna

Nita Farahany Interview on Human Germline Modification: Defining A Road Forward

Nita-Farahany

The topic of heritable human genetic modification has been heating up recently. Prominent scientists, ethicists, and legal scholars have being weighing in, and there is a range of attitudes. Some favor a complete, moratorium including even lab work, while on the other end of the spectrum there are those who have a more liberal perspective. Many …

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Congress: FDA should consult religious experts on embryo CRISPR

Crystal_Structure_of_Cas9_in_Complex_with_Guide_RNA_and_Target_DNA

The US Congress recently held its first hearing on human germline genetic modification. The meeting included CRISPR-Cas9 pioneer Jennifer Doudna (see video here) on the panel. See image of Cas9 structure from Wikipedia. CRISPR-Cas9 is a powerful, strikingly efficient tool for genetic engineering of cells and whole organisms. Now Republican congressional leaders have included a …

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Concerns surface on Chinese paper on genetic modification of human embryos

GM-human-embryo-review

The paper that came out Wednesday from a research group in China reporting the first genetic modification of human embryos has sparked a lot of discussion. Some concerns about this paper have surfaced. 2-day review? The paper (HT to John Borghi) was in review only from March 30-April 1 — so at most 48 hours. Really? That certainly …

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TGIF: Stem Cell Stream of Consciousness Including CRISPR

Lujan-paper

It seems like Fridays are always a good time for reflection. It’s not like the scientist’s week ends on Friday sad to say, but still at least we can pause momentarily TGIF style and reflect on the maelstrom that is our lives, while cracking open another diet Coke or pouring another cup of coffee. This …

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David Baltimore, et al. path for human germline engineering

human-germline-editing-policy

In a new perspectives piece in Science, Nobel Laureate David Baltimore and co-authors including Jennifer Doudna and George Church, chart a potential path forward for human germline engineering. See also accompanying Bioethics piece by Gretchen Vogel as well, “Embryo engineering alarm”. In the piece, entitled “A prudent path forward for genomic engineering and germline gene …

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George Church on Germline Human Genetic Modification

George-Church

I recently interviewed leading genomics scientist George Church on the ways that trends in genomics are changing our world. We also discussed the possibility of heritable human genetic modification. These days we more often call this “CRISPR babies.” His answers suggest that genomics and gene editing are poised to radically change our world. They could literally …

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Wilmut voted most-deserving of 3rd Nobel slot with Yamanka & Gurdon in poll

Poll-results-Nobel

I have a poll running regarding who would have been the best choice to share the Nobel Prize with Shinya Yamanaka and John Gurdon, and so far the winner is Ian Wilmut, who cloned the first mammal, Dolly the sheep. I should have included another option to indicate the possible preference that NO ONE should …

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