Genetics in Medicine — Progress and Pitfalls
By Editorial,
The Lancet
| 06. 06. 2015
Untitled Document
Last week, the White House decreed that human germline gene editing in biomedical research is discontinued in the USA until ethical and safety concerns are resolved. This technology involves modification of the genome in germ cells, which can then be inherited and passed on to future generations. “The administration believes that altering the human germline for clinical purposes is a line that should not be crossed at this time”, said John P Holdren, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
In recent years, genome engineering technology has developed the ability to edit DNA more precisely than before. The new technology is based on an enzyme complex that binds and splices DNA at precise locations, and can target a dysfunctional gene by first deleting, then repairing or replacing the target sequence with another molecule. One such technique, CRISPR/Cas—short for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats—has received attention after a study from China used the technique for the first time to edit nonviable human embryos to disable the gene for β-thalassaemia. However, the study...
Related Articles
By Yelena Biberman and Jonathan D. Moreno, Bioethics Forum | 04.16.2024
A quiet biological revolution in warfare is underway. The genome is emerging as a new domain of conflict. The level of destruction that only nuclear weapons could previously achieve is fast becoming as accessible as a cyberattack.
Now for the...
By Tristan Manalac, BioSpace | 04.02.2024
Verve Therapeutics has suspended enrollment in the Phase Ib Heart-1 study evaluating its lead gene editing program VERVE-101 following a serious adverse event, the company announced Tuesday.
A patient, who received a 0.45-mg/kg dose of VERVE-101, developed a grade 3...
By Timnit Gebru and Émile P. Torres, First Monday | 04.14.2024
The stated goal of many organizations in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) is to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI), an imagined system with more intelligence than anything we have ever seen. Without seriously questioning whether such a system can...
By Harold Brubaker, The Philadelphia Inquirer | 04.04.2024
Acompany started by University of Pennsylvania scientist Jim Wilson has received FDA approval to test a form of gene editing in infants for the first time in the United States, the company said Thursday.
The Plymouth Meeting company, iECURE, is...