Sophie Ellen Buckland discusses whether it is ethical to change someone’s DNA even if it’s only to ‘cure’ someone of genetic diseases.
gene editing
Fully Automated Luxury Communism: An Interview With Aaron Bastani
An interview with Aaron Bastani about his new book Fully Automated Luxury Communism.
Babies by design
Chinese scientist Jiankui has claimed, in a series of YouTube videos, to have successfully edited the genomes of two embryos. These embryos were then allowed to develop and produced twin girls with altered DNA. Their genomes were edited using CRISPR, a gene editing technique first developed in 2015 to stop the function of a gene called […]
Woman of the Month: Jennifer Doudna
Once in a while, we have an invention that changes the world completely, permanently and irreversibly. With the atomic bomb, came the ability to destroy the entire human race in an instant. With penicillin, deaths from paper cuts became obsolete. With satellite TV, stories from around the world entered our living rooms. This century’s great […]
Designer Genes
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has given a free pass to a DNA editing tool to alter the human genome. This opens the way to unprecedented control over the human genome, and the possibility to prevent, or even cure, genetic diseases. Back in 2012 Professor Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues were spending long hours […]
‘Three person’ baby born
A baby containing the genetic material of three parents has been born through the use of groundbreaking new technology. The baby was born in Mexico, and the procedure carried out by a US team, who chose the central American country as it has no laws that prohibit the procedure. The technology used is known as […]
Best of TED: Gene editing and the eradication of malaria
Jennifer Kahn is a science journalist whose articles cover the gene-editing abilities of CRISPR technology. Her TED talk, ‘Gene editing can now change an entire species – forever’ can be found on TED.com under the ‘Science’ section. No one can deny the blight malaria has been on the world. UNICEF figures show over a […]