Chinese Gene Manipulator Imprisoned
December 30, 2019
China has sentenced to prison the researcher who was first to use the nascent gene-editing tool CRISPR/Cas9 to alter the genes of humans—twin girls—in ways that could be passed to future offspring. In several series of articles (here and here), Issues has examined the technical, social, ethical, and political aspects of human gene editing, including recent looks at how the scientific community can encourage positive and deter problematic research and why public involvement in its oversight is essential.