DOCSLIB.ORG

What Crispr-Baby Prison Sentences Mean for Research

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
What Crispr-Baby Prison Sentences Mean for Research News in focus ceiling to collapse. The walls still stand, and the Tree-ring dating of timber beams could and the crossing between the two — as well as building will eventually be restored — although reveal the year and location in which the material still on top of the remaining vaults. this is likely to take longer than the ambitious trees were felled, filling in gaps in knowledge But these are currently off-limits to people five years initially forecast, and is set to cost about the sequence of construction. “Each tree for safety reasons, Dillmann says — so robots hundreds of millions of euros. records within its tissues the environment in and drones must do all the collecting. Some But, until then, the interior of the building which it has grown,” says Dufraisse. This kind of this material might ultimately be reused in holds piles of debris: fallen stonework, of study “could never have been conducted restoration. burnt timbers and damaged metal artefacts, without the destruction of the structure by The collection and analysis will need to be all now available for scientific study. The fire”, she says. documented precisely and thoroughly. Livio absence of tourists might also make it pos- In particular, says Regert, the wood is a de Luca, a specialist in digital mapping of sible to use radar to probe the foundations, climate archive. “Isotopic analyses of oxygen architecture at the CNRS’s Mixed Research which have been little investigated before. Unit in Marseille will lead a team dedicated Even some parts of the structure that were “The burnt structure to creating a “digital ecosystem” that sum- largely undamaged are now more accessi- marizes both the scientific research and the ble for inspection, says metals specialist constitutes a gigantic current and previous states of the cathedral, Philippe Dillmann of the CNRS Laboratory for laboratory for drawing on the work of scientists, historians, Archaeo materials and Alteration Forecast- archaeology.” archaeologists, engineers and curators — and ing in Gif-sur-Yvette, who is coordinating the perhaps even on old tourist photos of the project with Regert. structure. and carbon in the rings make it possible to “It will be like a ‘digital twin’ of the cathedral, Architectural investigations determine the temperature and rainfall over able to evolve as the studies progress,” de Luca The CNRS project will focus on seven topics: time,” she says. The trees used in Notre-Dame says. It will include online models for 3D masonry, wood, metalwork, glass, acoustics, grew between the eleventh and thirteenth visualization of the building and its attributes, digital data collection and anthropology. In all, centuries, during a warm period known as created from billions of data points, with the effort will involve more than 100 research- the medieval climate optimum, offering a the history and evolution of the structure ers in 25 laboratories and will last for 6 years. reference period for natural climate warm- superimposed on the spatial map. Gallet’s team will study Notre-Dame’s ing to compare with anthropogenic warming As well as deepening researchers’ stones to identify the quarries that supplied today. understanding of this monumental building, them and “reconstruct the supply networks Regert hopes that the scientific studies will and the economy of the site”. Studying the Access all areas? be useful when its ravaged vaults rise again. mortar used to bind the stones together could Collecting and excavating the materials for The results, she says, might “illuminate the reveal how different compositions were used analysis is challenging. There are three main choices that society will have to make for for the various structural elements — vault- piles of debris — in the nave, the north transept the restoration”. ing, walls and flying buttresses. A better knowledge of the historical materials could inform choices made in restoration, says Gallet. The team will also analyse weaknesses in the remaining structure caused by the high WHAT CRISPR-BABY temperatures of the fire, and by the fall of masonry and the water used to extinguish the PRISON SENTENCES flames. A radar study will determine how solid the foundations are before restorers erect MEAN FOR RESEARCH scaffolding to allow them to dismantle the unstable remnants of the nineteenth-century Chinese court sends strong signal by punishing spire. Meanwhile, a team of about 50 will focus on He Jiankui and two colleagues. Notre-Dame’s famous woodwork — especially the timbers in the roof space above the vaults, By David Cyranoski ease of using the most popular gene-editing dubbed the forest — which has either burnt tool, CRISPR–Cas9. But the punish ments away or lies charred in the nave. These black- Chinese court has sentenced are “definitely a deterrent to similar mis- ened remains could be tremendously valuable He Jiankui, the biophysicist who conduct in China”, says Wei Wensheng, a to researchers. announced that he had created the gene-editing researcher at Peking University “The burnt structure constitutes a gigantic world’s first gene-edited babies, to in Beijing. laboratory for archaeology,” says dendrologist three years in prison for “illegal On 30 December, a court in Shenzhen Alexa Dufraisse of the National Museum of Amedical practice”, and handed down shorter announced that He and two colleagues had Natural History in Paris, who will lead the sentences to two colleagues who assisted him. flouted regulations and research ethics by multidisciplinary wood team. The punishments put to rest speculation over altering genes in human embryos that were “Wood is an extraordinary source of whether the Chinese government would bring then implanted into two women, according information,” says Regert. Initial observations criminal charges for an act that shocked the to Xinhua News Agency. One woman gave have confirmed that the ‘forest’ is made of oak, world, and they are likely to deter others from birth to twin girls in late 2018; the court said but studies will pinpoint the exact species similar behaviour, say Chinese scientists. a third baby has been born but did not say used and give researchers clues about the There has been much speculation about when, a revelation that fits with He’s claim in techniques and tools of medieval timber whether other scientists would follow in November 2018 that a second woman had been construction. He‘s footsteps, especially given the relative implanted with a gene-edited embryo. 154 | Nature | Vol 577 | 9 January 2020 ©2020 Spri nger Nature Li mited. All ri ghts reserved. ©2020 Spri nger Nature Li mited. All ri ghts reserved. Q&A AUBREY GEMIGNANI/NG IMAGES/ALAMY GEMIGNANI/NG AUBREY Wanda Diaz Merced Astronomy is inextricably associated with colourful images of the cosmos. But Wanda Diaz Merced says that neglecting senses other than sight can mean missing out on discoveries. Diaz Merced, an astronomer at the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Office for Astronomy Outreach in Mitaka, Japan, is a pioneer of sonification, MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK a technique that converts aspects of data, He Jiankui stunned the world when he declared that he’d created the first gene-edited babies. such as frequency, into audible elements. It could help astronomers to avoid biases The court fined He 3 million yuan government would not bring a criminal case from interpreting data only visually, argues (US$430,000). Collaborators Zhang Renli and against He because of the increased media Diaz Merced, who lost her sight in her Qin Jinzhou received less severe punishments. attention it would generate, says Tang Li, a twenties. At an IAU meeting on equality The health ministry has also banned the science-policy researcher at Fudan University and diversity in Mitaka last December, researchers from working with human repro- in Shanghai. Discussion of He’s experiments Diaz Merced spoke to Nature about the ductive technology again, and the science was widely censored on Chinese social media. approach. ministry has banned them from applying for But Tang says the disclosure of the court’s research funding, according to Xinhua. result demonstrates China’s commitment on How did you begin working on sonification? Scientists in China who are currently research ethics. This is a big step forward in As an intern at NASA in 2005, I created a researching into CRISPR’s potential to treat promoting responsible research, she says. tool to map astronomical data into sound various genetic diseases by modifying cells Although an unpublished manuscript — pitch, rhythm and volume. In my 2013 other than those of embryos say that they fear describing the experiments lists ten authors, PhD dissertation, I proved that it is useful. He’s actions might have a detrimental effect on according to MIT Technology Review, He, Zhang their work, too, even though it is not as ethically and Qin are the only ones to face penalties so How did you do that? contentious. He shocked the world’s scientists far. The manuscript says Zhang “performed I presented users with spectral data and in November 2018 when he announced that his the human embryo microinjections”, MIT asked them to look for a double peak that team at Southern University of Science and Technology Review reports. Zhang, who was indicates a black hole. People tried to Technology in Shenzhen had used CRISPR to affiliated with the Guangdong Academy of identify signals using vision only, audio edit DNA in human embryos to make them less Medical Sciences and Guangdong General only and by combining vision and sound. susceptible to HIV. The edits were designed to Hospital in Guangzhou at the time of the We found that combining audio with visual disrupt a gene that encodes a protein allowing experiments, has been sentenced to two interaction was the most sensitive way. HIV to enter immune cells.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Shock Greets Claim of CRISPR-Edited Babies Apparent Germline Engineering by Chinese Researcher Prompts Outrage and Investigations
    IN DEPTH Downloaded from BIOETHICS Shock greets claim of CRISPR-edited babies http://science.sciencemag.org/ Apparent germline engineering by Chinese researcher prompts outrage and investigations By Dennis Normile, in Hong Kong, China pears to have skipped the profound ethical and other gene-editing techniques as treat- debate that participants at the 2015 summit, ments for genetic diseases, such as muscular he idea that humanity can rewrite its and many meetings since, agreed should take dystrophy and sickle cell anemia. So far, clini- own genetic code long seemed the stuff place before such experiments began. (He did cal trials have only modified somatic cells— of a science fiction novel—and a pretty not responds to requests for an interview.) not sperm or eggs, the germ line. But He on December 30, 2020 scary one at that. But rapid advances Fueling the outcry was the fact that He altered the genome in early stage embryos, in techniques such as CRISPR have didn’t produce any data, let alone a paper, creating edits that may be heritable. Many made it possible, at least in principle, to back up his claim. The biologist was scientists and ethicists don’t rule out making Tto make precise changes to the genome of scheduled to speak at the International such changes to the germ line, but recent re- a human embryo that could help rid fami- Summit on Human Genome Editing here ports from the United States’s National Acad- lies of crippling genetic diseases—or lead to this week, but whether he would show up emies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine “designer” babies, gene edited to be smarter was unclear as Science went to press.
    [Show full text]
  • Gene Editing in HIV Research
    TREATMENT ACTION GROUP ISSUE BRIEF MARCH 2019 www.treatmentactiongroup.org Gene Editing in HIV Research INTRODUCTION the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen and placed under investigation by Chinese The term “gene therapy” refers to a broad variety of authorities. approaches that aim to provide therapeutic benefit by manipulating genetic code (DNA or RNA). The strategy Amidst the controversy about He Jiankui, it’s important takes advantage of the fact that DNA acts as a blueprint to appreciate that there is a substantial amount of for manufacturing proteins, via an intermediate step legitimate and responsible gene editing research in HIV. of translation into RNA. Multiple research groups and The best-known example is an experimental therapy biotechnology companies have explored the possibility called SB-728, developed by the company Sangamo of treating HIV with gene therapy, but so far evidence of Therapeutics. SB-728 is designed to edit the gene that efficacy has been limited, and no candidates have been encodes the CCR5 receptor, with the aim of creating submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cells impervious to infection by HIV. Several other gene (FDA) for possible approval. Importantly, no major editing approaches that may have benefits in HIV are safety issues have emerged to date. also under investigation. Initially, these The purpose of this The purpose of this issue brief is to provide background experimental information on gene editing in HIV research, and issue brief is to provide gene context for the news about He’s misuse of the background information therapies technology to alter embryos.
    [Show full text]
  • CRISPR Twins Might Have Shortened Lives
    NEWS IN FOCUS REPRODUCIBILITY One paper, two discussions Anaesthesia journal asks independent experts to draw their own conclusions on studies. BY DAVID ADAM Some reproducibility researchers welcome the same time as the peer-reviewed original, the the approach and say that other fields should journal hopes to accelerate the self-correcting ow deeply an anaesthetist should sedate do the same. Efforts to improve reproduc- nature of the literature. “If independent discus- an elderly person before surgery is a ibility have so far focused on methods and sion authors find a fatal flaw, then we’ll have a controversial issue — some studies link results, and need to extend to inferences and bit of a problem. But it won’t be the first time,” Hstronger doses of anaesthetic with earlier deaths. conclusions, says John Ioannidis at Stanford says Hemmings. So it should reassure clinicians to see a study1 University, California, who is one of the The original paper’s lead author praises in the British Journal of Anaesthesia that inves- authors of the independent discussion and the approach. “We’re all biased and this gives tigates and rules out such a link — the paper’s an advocate for bet- a second pair of eyes,” says Frederick Sieber, a discussion section says so explicitly. ter reproducibility in “We’re all researcher in anaesthesiology and critical-care But another paper2 in the journal that dis- science. From simi- biased and this medicine at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical cusses the clinical trial analyses the same results lar results, people gives a second Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
    [Show full text]
  • He Jiankui (贺建奎)Incident
    The “He JianKui (贺建奎) Incident”: Summary of Facts and Concerns Olivia Ngan Post-doctoral Fellow CUHK Centre for Bioethics The Chinese University of Hong Kong CUHK Centre for Bioethics, Seminar on Germline Genome Editing 03.28.2019 1 2 Outline • Key events after He JianKui’s breaking the news of his work • Reaction and current consensus from the scientific community, professional society in germline genome editing 3 CRISPR Technology CRISPR is a simple yet powerful tool for editing genomes. It allow genetic material to be added, removed, or altered at particular locations in the genome. Potential applications include correcting genetic defects, treating and preventing the spread of diseases and improving crops. Timeline of “CRISPR-related events” Scientists showed that Produce customized dogs with CRISPR could be used to double the amount of muscle edit the genomes of mass by deleting a gene cultured mouse cells or human cells 2012 2014 2016 2013 2015 First monkeys engineered with CRISPR to edit targeted mutations the genes of using CRISPR various crops to make them CRISPR was discovered more nutritious 4 Timeline of “CRISPR-related events” • Gene editing in embryos intended for pregnancy has not previously been reported. • CRISPR is remarkably accurate at editing the genes that it is supposed to edit, but it can also cause off- target mutations. 2018 • No one has previously tried editing embryos that develop into humans, because the science is not yet precise enough to guarantee the results. 2018 • He shocked the world by making the world’s
    [Show full text]
  • Breaking the Germline Barrier in a Moral Vacuum
    Accountability in Research Policies and Quality Assurance ISSN: 0898-9621 (Print) 1545-5815 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/gacr20 Breaking the germline barrier in a moral vacuum Sheldon Krimsky To cite this article: Sheldon Krimsky (2019): Breaking the germline barrier in a moral vacuum, Accountability in Research, DOI: 10.1080/08989621.2019.1644171 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/08989621.2019.1644171 Accepted author version posted online: 15 Jul 2019. Published online: 26 Jul 2019. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 37 View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=gacr20 ACCOUNTABILITY IN RESEARCH https://doi.org/10.1080/08989621.2019.1644171 Breaking the germline barrier in a moral vacuum Sheldon Krimsky Department of Urban & Environmental Policy & Planning, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA ABSTRACT KEYWORDS In November 2018 a Chinese scientist claimed to have used CRISPR/Cas9; gene editing; CRISPR/Cas 9 technology to genetically modify two human human embryos; AIDS; embryos that were then gestated in one adult woman through CCR5; HIV an IVF pregnancy and brought to term. The twin girls are allegedly the first babies born with their prenatal genomes edited. Using both English language and Chinese supporting documents, this paper discusses the background of this human experiment, the social context of Chinese science, and the alleged ethical transgressions of its principal scientist. Introduction The international science community was caught off guard in late November 2018 when Chinese scientist Dr. He Jiankui announced through the media that he had used CRISPR/Cas9 editing technology to modify the genes of two human embryos, which were subsequently implanted in a Chinese woman by IVF techniques and brought to term as fraternal twin girls.
    [Show full text]
  • S Human Reproductive Cloning
    9/15/2020 Cloning humans is technically possible. It's curious no one has tried - STAT 1 Human reproductive cloning: The curious incident of the dog in the night-time By Henry T. Greely February 21, 2020 Reprints2 Seven-month-old Dolly poses for photographs in 1997 at the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute, where she was cloned and raised. Paul Clements/AP Gregory: Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention? Holmes: To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time. Gregory: The dog did nothing in the night-time. Holmes: That was the curious incident. — Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of Silver Blaze”3 Sometimes what doesn’t happen is as interesting as what does. Cloning human embryos has been possible for nearly seven years. Yet as far as I know, during that time no one has made a cloned baby or, apparently, has tried to make one. And what I find most surprising is that no one has announced they intend to make one. https://www.statnews.com/2020/02/21/human-reproductive-cloning-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-night-time/ 1/7 9/15/2020 Cloning humans is technically possible. It's curious no one has tried - STAT Why is this surprising? Let’s go back almost 23 years to Feb. 23, 1997. On that day, news leaked out that the scientific journal Nature was about to publish a report of the birth of the first mammal cloned from adult cells — a sheep named Dolly4.
    [Show full text]
  • Ethical Reflections on the Conditions Surrounding the First Genome-Edited Babies [Version 1; Peer Review: 2 Approved with Reservations]
    Wellcome Open Research 2020, 5:216 Last updated: 04 AUG 2021 OPEN LETTER Making sense of it all: Ethical reflections on the conditions surrounding the first genome-edited babies [version 1; peer review: 2 approved with reservations] Qi Chen1, Yonghui Ma 1, G Owen Schaefer2, Vicki Xafis 2, Markus Labude2, Peter Mills 3 1Centre for Bioethics, Medical School, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China 2Centre for Biomedical Ethics, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117597, Singapore 3Nuffield Council on Bioethics, London, WC1B 3JS, UK v1 First published: 16 Sep 2020, 5:216 Open Peer Review https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16295.1 Latest published: 23 Jun 2021, 5:216 https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16295.2 Reviewer Status Invited Reviewers Abstract In November 2018 the birth of the first genome-edited human beings 1 2 was announced. The ensuing ethical controversy, institutional investigations and legal proceedings led to the revision of standards, version 2 rules and procedures at many levels. Arguably, however, these (revision) report developments have not fundamentally changed the conditions or the 23 Jun 2021 culture that nourished He Jiankui’s vaulting ambition in the first place and enabled it to find expression. In this paper we explore the clinical, version 1 regulatory and societal circumstances of the ‘gene-edited baby’ case, 16 Sep 2020 report report the political, cultural and economic conditions that created a radical and dangerous climate for biotechnology innovation, and the responsibilities of the international research community, many of 1. Giulia Cavaliere , King's College London, whose members were apprised of Dr He’s intentions.
    [Show full text]
  • Russian Biologist Plans More CRISPR-Edited Babies the Proposal Follows the Birth of Twins from Embryos Edited by a Chinese Scientist Last Year
    NEWS IN FOCUS PALAEONTOLOGY French court CONSERVATION Largest plant ASTROPHYSICS The first map BIOLOGY Mouse lemurs are orders return of fossil survey reveals alarming of the Universe in high- getting a closer look from bounty to Brazil p.147 extinction rates p.148 energy X-rays p.149 geneticists p.151 Molecular biologist Denis Rebrikov is planning controversial gene-editing experiments in women diagnosed with HIV. GENE EDITING Russian biologist plans more CRISPR-edited babies The proposal follows the birth of twins from embryos edited by a Chinese scientist last year. BY DAVID CYRANOSKI gene-edited embryos into women, possibly into women who have been diagnosed with before the end of the year if he can get approval HIV, reducing the risk of them passing on Russian scientist says he is planning by then. Chinese scientist He Jiankui prompted the virus to the baby in utero. By contrast, He to produce gene-edited babies, an act an international outcry when he announced modified the gene in embryos from fathers that would make him only the second last November that he had made the world’s with HIV, which many geneticists said provided Aperson known to have done this. It would first gene-edited babies — twin girls. little clinical benefit because the risk of a father also fly in the face of the scientific consensus The experiment will target the same gene, passing on HIV to his children is minimal. that such experiments should be banned called CCR5, as He did, but Rebrikov claims Rebrikov heads a genome-editing lab at Rus- until an international ethical framework has his technique will offer greater benefits, pose sia’s largest fertility clinic, the Kulakov National been agreed on the circumstances and safety fewer risks and be more ethically acceptable to Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gyne- measures that would justify them.
    [Show full text]
  • To the State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management Mrs S. Van Veldhoven-Van Der Meer P.O. Box 20901 2500 EX the Hague
    To the state secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management Mrs S. van Veldhoven-van der Meer P.O. Box 20901 2500 EX The Hague DATE 31 January 2019 REFERENCE CGM/190131-02 SUBJECT Update to policy report ‘Editing human DNA’ Dear Mrs Van Veldhoven, At the end of November 2018 the Chinese scientist Dr He Jiankui claimed to have created the first gene-edited (GM) humans. The twin girls are said to have been born at the beginning of November and have an alteration to their DNA that can confer resistance to HIV. This announcement injected new urgency into the international debate about human genome editing. The news has been confirmed by the Chinese authorities. Using recent gene editing techniques such as CRISPR-Cas it is relatively simple and easy to make precisely targeted and specific alterations to DNA sequences.1 This opens up possibilities to alter human DNA sequences in such a way that these modifications are passed on to subsequent generations, for example to prevent genetic disorders. Human genome editing is prohibited by law in most countries, including the Netherlands, and the technology raises technical, legal and ethical issues. In 2017 COGEM and the Health Council of the Netherlands published a joint report on this topic.2 In this letter COGEM informs you about the developments that have taken place since that earlier report and revises its recommendations in the light of these developments. 1 Scientist claims to have created first gene-edited humans Earlier research in 2015 into gene editing of non-viable human embryos in the lab (in vitro) put the discussion about human genome editing onto the international agenda, although at the time clinical use seemed a long way off.
    [Show full text]
  • HIV Cure Research Ethics Update Considerations for Cell and Gene Therapiesconsiderations for Cell and Gene Therapies
    HIV Cure Research Ethics Update HIV Cure Research Ethics Update Considerations for Cell and Gene TherapiesConsiderations for Cell and Gene Therapies Karine Dubé, DrPH, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health Michael Louella, defeatHIV Community Advisory Board 2019 Pre-CROI Community HIV Cure Research Workshop Sunday, March 3, 2019 What Happened with the Chinese Gene-Edited Babies? • He Jiankui, Assistant Professor South University of Science and Technology (China) • Use of CRISPR/Cas9 technology to edit genes for the HIV co-receptor CCR5 in human embryos for implementation • Public announcement at the Start of the Second He Jiankui International summit on Human Genome Editing (Hong Kong, November 2018) • Male partner HIV-positive à HIV-negative offspring • Led to birth of twins who were mutated for CCR5 genes Why Was This Event So Controversial? SOMATIC GERMLINE medicine He Jiankui’s HERAPY & research experiments T Plastic Designer surgery babies NHANCEMENT E How Did Our Community React? “TAG joins with the scientists and the ethicists who are condemning the work as unethical, unjustified, and potentially dangerous” – Richard Jefferys http://www.treatmentactiongroup.org/content/treatment-action-group-statement-reported-birth-twins-edited-ccr5-genes How Did the Risks Outweigh the Benefits? • There are safe, effective and easier options to prevent mother-to- child transmission and treat HIV • Alteration of germ line • Incomplete ability of CCR5 gene deletion to prevent HIV acquisition • Safety of experimenting with CRISPR/Cas-9 in human
    [Show full text]
  • Ethics of Genome Editing
    #EthicsGroup_EU Ethics of Genome Editing European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies Research and Innovation European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies Ethics of Genome Editing European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation Unit 03 Contact Jim DRATWA Email [email protected] [email protected] European Commission B-1049 Brussels Manuscript completed in March 2021. The European Commission is not liable for any consequence stemming from the reuse of this publication. The contents of this opinion are the sole responsibility of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE). The views expressed in this document reflect the collective view of the EGE and may not in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the European Commission. More information on the European Union is available on the internet (http://europa.eu). Print ISBN 978-92-76-30141-7 doi:10.2777/763 KI-01-21-062-EN-C PDF ISBN 978-92-76-30140-0 doi:10.2777/659034 KI-01-21-062-EN-N Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2021 © European Union, 2021 The reuse policy of European Commission documents is implemented based on Commission Decision 2011/833/EU of 12 December 2011 on the reuse of Commission documents (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39). Except otherwise noted, the reuse of this document is authorised under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This means that reuse is allowed provided appropriate credit is given and any changes are indicated.
    [Show full text]
  • Regulating Genome Editing Under International Human Rights Law
    © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press for the British Institute of International and Comparative Law. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work. REGULATING GENOME EDITING UNDER INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW RUMIANA YOTOVA* Abstract This article offers a critical assessment of the role of international human rights law in the regulation of genome editing. Given the rapid scientific developments in the field of genetics, it is important to explore the implications of the human rights framework for the research into and the clinical application of genome editing. The broader normative question is whether the existing human rights standards are sufficient to address the challenges posed by this new technology. It will be argued that while international human rights law does not prohibit genome editing, it imposes important restrictions upon it. However, existing human rights are arguably insufficient to regulate germline genome editing as there are significant loopholes in the protection of embryos. Nor do they fully address the wide-ranging implications of the new technology for society and humankind. It will be suggested that new standards are needed, ideally set out in a new international instrument and supported by an institutional framework, which address the specific challenges posed by this new technology.
    [Show full text]