There’s a questionable notion floating around out there in the numerous discussions over heritable human genetic modification and CRISPR. This idea goes that if germline human gene editing goes awry for any number of reasons, scientists could simply reverse it by applying genetics again. The reversal notion does not fit with the reality of science […]
You can’t retract a designer baby: CRISPR, social justice, & risks Read More »
Sounds recommended weekend reads for you to enjoy since it is Friday and almost the weekend including stem cells, CRISPR, cats, cloning, and more. Holy GMO, China wants to buy Syngenta. RetractionWatch says that Macchiarini will soon be out at Karolinska. For more on this “super surgeon” who used stem cells, see here regarding recent Vanity
TGIF weekend reads: stem cells, GMOs, #CRISPR, cats, cloning and more Read More »
A new report from the National Academies of Sciences (NAS), Engineering, and Medicine here in the US recommends a policy significantly more cautious on first read for 3-person IVF than that in place now in the UK. My initial take on this new 164-page report is that it is very well thought out and the
NAS proposes prudent US policy on 3-person IVF Read More »
The New York Times recently asked 6 people what sci-fi movie or novel is most prescient today; in my view it’s GATTACA. The responses ran the gamut: Fahrenheit 451, The Martian, The Fifth Season, The Body Snatchers, Book of the New Sun, and Use of Weapons. To me of those 6, the best case can
NYT asks which sci-fi work is most prescient today: I think GATTACA Read More »
CRISPR is the hottest new biotechnology and the top development of 2015 according to Science Magazine. What will the new year of 2016 bring on the CRISPR front? It’s clear there will be more meetings on CRISPR ethics and policy (heck, we are having one right here at UC Davis on May 26), but what
CRISPR predictions for New Year of 2016 Read More »
Each year around this time I check up on my past year’s predictions for the stem cell field. For 2015 I made 20 predictions. You can see past 10 predictions lists for 2013 and 2014. It’s pretty interesting to look back at where the focus was in past years and what my crystal ball yielded
How did my 20 stem cell predictions for 2015 fare? Read More »
Professor Steven Pinker of Harvard has been making the case recently that when it comes to novel biotechnologies such as CRISPR-Cas9 that bioethics should just get out of the way. Further, he has argued that we do not need a moratorium on clinical use of CRISPR-Cas9 for human genetic modification. In fact, he says that
Why I Disagree with Steven Pinker On CRISPR Read More »
CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology is red-hot right now and I’ve been doing interviews with various thought leaders on it, which today includes Steven Pinker. This technology has great power for research in the lab and there are hypothetical transformative clinical applications of CRISPR too. The latter efforts could include experimental attempts at reversal of disease-causing
Steven Pinker interview: case against bioethocrats & CRISPR germline ban Read More »
Each year towards the end of December I make predictions for the coming year as I did for 2015. In the past I usually make a top 10 prediction list, but for this year I made 20 predictions. Admittedly some of them may have been more hopes than predictions. At mid-year today on June 30th,
How are my 20 stem cell predictions for 2015 doing? Read More »
Remember the debate over so-called 3-person IVF? The goal of this technology, also referred to as mitochondrial transfer and 3-parent IVF, is to prevent mitochondrial disease through nuclear transfer in oocytes or one-cell embryos. The resulting genetically modified (GM) human embryos and ultimately children if it works could have dodged mitochondrial disease, but also could have serious or
250,000-fold oversight on 3-person IVF mitochondrial transfer? Read More »