English
DeutschGenome editing in humans raises broader public debate
23 March 2015 / In a call published last week in the international magazines Science and Nature, researchers suggest a moratorium on research in human genome editing. They are warning that new technologies such as DNA-scissors (CRISPR/Cas9 and TALENs) make it easy for anyone with basic training to insert, remove, and edit genes in cells - including human sperm, eggs, and embryos. The purpose is not only to potentially cure genetic diseases but also to add other desired genetic information.
There are good reasons for such a moratorium. Not only has the technology become available, many scientist are becoming increasingly interested in the engineering of the human genome. For example, in 2012, a well-known proponent of synthetic biology, George Church, published a book suggesting that these technologies could be used to „start with a stem cell genome from a human adult and gradually reverse-engineer it into the Neanderthal genome or a reasonable close equivalent“.
Such technologies are already being applied in plants and animals and allow for a radical change of the genome. Testbiotech recently published a short backgrounder on synthetic genome technologies, giving an overview of recently developed techniques for so-called genome editing in plants and animals. Further, Testbiotech is organising a conference in Berlin on 17 June 2015, to discuss, amongst other things, the ethical implications. The conference programme will be published shortly.
Contact:
Christoph Then, Tel 0049 151 54638040, info@testbiotech.org
Further Informations:
Articles about the scientists calling for a moratorium (1): Vogel, G. (2015) Embryo engineering alarm, researchers call for restraint in genome editing, Science, Vol. 347, Issue 6228, Page 1301. http://news.sciencemag.org/technology/2015/03/embryo-engineering-alarm
Articles about the scientists calling for a moratorium (2): Lanphier, E., Urnov F. et al (2015) Don’t edit the human germ line Heritable human genetic modifications pose serious risks, and the therapeutic benefits are tenuous, Nature, Vol 5 1 9, 410-411 www.nature.com/polopoly_fs/1.17111!/menu/main/topColumns/topLeftColumn/p...
The book by George Church: Church, G., Regis, E. (2012) Regenesis, how synthetic biology will reinvent nature and ourselves, Basis Books, New York, www.regenesisthebook.com/
The Testbiotech backgrounder on synthetic genome technologies used in plants and animals: www.testbiotech.org/en/node/1140
