May 28, 2015

Scientists Curbing the Ethical Use of Science

Introduction

rfdgenetics A researcher works at the University of California, Berkeley’s Innovative Genomics Initiative, where a genome-editing technique that could be used to alter future generations was invented. Marsha Fenner/Innovative Genomics Initiative

The inventor of a genome-editing technique that might eventually be used to alter future generations wants a moratorium on its use in research on humans. But Chinese scientists have already tried it, albeit unsuccessfully, on human embryos to cure a blood disorder.

Concerned about how the technique might be applied, the National Academies of Sciences and Medicine has called for an international meeting to discuss research and applications.
But can a discovery be reined in once the basic science has been published? Can researchers control the ethical use or ramifications of their breakthroughs?

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Debaters