This Technology Review article discusses the use of CRISPR to "engineer babies".
And another article says: "Gene drives are just the latest example of the fantastic power of CRISPR editing to alter the DNA of living things,..." This is in the context of engineering mosquitoes which stop the transmission of the malaria parasite and ensuring they proliferate, raising the possibility of a victory against malaria. But it raises the ethics of changing the biosphere, permanently.
I first posted about CRISPR back in April, which was pretty good of me, though my post was more about the quandary it poses for opponents of genetic modification. That quandary becomes more severe as we begin to see the potential uses of the technique.
[Updated: An Atlantic article on understanding our genes.--hat tip Marginal Revolution.]
No comments:
Post a Comment