But these exist alongside headlines about designer babies and super soldiers for the military.

Our interactive GLP global map explains the status of each country’s regulations for human and agricultural gene editing and gene drives. Treating those cells with CRISPR means that we could, conceivably, remove mutations that are known to cause diseases and supply patients with functional cells and tissues. A certain degree of sensationalism is unfortunately necessary to get a lay audience interested in science, but the short-term pursuit of an audience unfortunately does some long-lasting damage to the perception of technology.
But despite the optimistic headlines, the technique known as CRISPR is also becoming an emerging international security threat. Please support us – a donation of as little as $10 a month helps support our vital myth-busting efforts.Research by fertility scientists in the UK and Mexico challenges the accepted view of how sperm “swim”, suggesting that it ...A three-year run of fragmentary Armageddon-like studies had primed the journalism pumps and settled the media framing about the future ...The media call it the “Insect Apocalypse”. Yes, the use of biotechnology, GMOs or gene editing to develop antigens for treatments including vaccines are part of the solution. This article or excerpt is included in the GLP’s daily curated selection of ideologically diverse news, opinion and analysis of biotechnology innovation.It is easier than ever for advocacy groups to spread disinformation on pressing science issues, such as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Quora Contributor. [CRISPR co-creator Jennifer] Doudna says that a big challenge will be to determine how to use the technology responsibly in the context of international science, considering the fact that it is widely available. The Yamanaka method for inducing "stemness" in cells that aren't stem cells (like skin cells, for example) coupled with our ability to differentiate those cells into a variety of different types and tissues means that, in the near future, we can start engineering "replacement parts" for humans. No, vaccines are not harmful.

A new Netflix series, titled “Unnatural Selection,” considers how far CRISPR can go. To inform the public about what’s really going on, we present the facts and challenge those who don't. Scientists in China are racing ahead. In the past three years, the phrase has become an accepted truth of ...When a woman becomes pregnant, her risk of type 2 diabetes increases for the rest of her life, perhaps because ...Some scientists and ecologists argue that humans are in the midst of an "extinction crisis" — the sixth wave of ...Experts estimate that agricultural production needs to roughly double in the coming decades. Applications as sophisticated as designer babies or humans bred to be warriors are going to require editing than this that they're nothing more than scary thought experiments. This GLP project maps contributions by foundations to anti-biotech activists and compares it to pro-GMO industry spending.

I think the most promising type of applications for human health are correcting known disease-causing mutations in patient-derived stem cells. How can that be achieved?

Considering that the average human gene is nearly ten times this length, CRISPR can really only modify or add one gene at a time. The potentially appalling applications of CRISPR aren't in humans -- they're in non-animal species that have fast generation times and can have populations maintained in labs -- like insects. Months after his death [in 2018], a scientist in China shocked the world by announcing he had created the world’s first genetically modified human babies – a step towards the future Hawking envisioned.If governments were to start modifying their populations’ genes on a mass scale to treat genetic ailments such as sickle cell disease, would that pave the way towards the eventual use of this technology for enhancement?“Oh, that’s going to happen for sure,” says Derya Unutmaz, a Connecticut-based immunologist and principal researcher at Jackson Laboratory. This is essentially ecological engineering, and it can be accomplished by small groups with initiative. Bryan Galvan | South China Morning Post | January 8, 2019. (Photo by Anna Webber/Getty Images for The New Yorker)Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.One of the most frustrating things about popular discussions of CRISPR is the tendency of commentators to let their imaginations run wild about potential applications. We're currently capable of engineering self-propagating edits that alter the behavior of individuals; these individuals can then be released into the wild and spread their edits throughout entire populations.

There's a lot of potential for abuse there, but I don't think it's quite enough to make CRISPR an appalling prospect.

CRISPR is a powerful technology, but when it comes to altering humans, it's nowhere near as powerful as the sensationalists like to imply.
...In 2015, 15 scientists and activists issued a statement, "No Scientific consensus on GMO safety," in the journal Environmental Sciences ...Independent scientists rip Benbrook's co-authored commentary in New England Journal calling for reassessment of dangers of all GMO crops and herbicides ...The ETC Group is an international environmental non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Canada whose stated purpose is to monitor "the impact of emerging technologies and ...News on human & agricultural genetics and biotechnology delivered to your inbox.Biotech industry fears Canada's uncertain CRISPR crop rules will slow farming innovation

CRISPR could someday enable U.S. adversaries to genetically-engineer bioweapons or even create “super soldiers” to dominate future battlefields. This is absolutely something worth getting excited about!