This is the blog for GW students taking Human Evolutionary Genetics. This site is for posting interesting tidbits on: the patterns and processes of human genetic variation;human origins and migration; molecular adaptations to environment, lifestyle and disease; ancient and forensic DNA analyses; and genealogical reconstructions.

GWHEG figure

GWHEG figure

Monday, March 9, 2020

CRISPR ethics: moral considerations for applications of a powerful tool



The CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)-Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein 9) system has become a regular component of genomic engineering studies. However, public support and understanding of these studies remains uncertain. Recently, Brokowski and Adli outlined the various ethical issues related to CRISPR and proposed a framework for regulating future studies. Their review particularly highlighted the uncertainty associated with human germline genetic modifications and their risks. Another concern is the likely possibility of class inequality affected access to CRISPR technology and subsequent price gouging. While human clinical CRISPR trials will be necessary at some point, these cannot be established without a firm ethical framework. Overall, they recommend the establishment of an organization, such as the Association for Responsible Research and Innovation in Genome Editing (ARRIGE), to help address the ethical considerations of human genome editing.

Joshua Porter - Potluck 03/10/2020



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