Bioethics.net

December 14, 2018 11:43 am

Gene editing: who should decide? (Nature)

Last month’s announcement claiming the birth of the world’s first genome-edited babies has sparked a furore over how to regulate this cutting-edge technology (see Nature 563, 607–608; 2018, and Nature564, 5; 2018). In our view, piling up scientist-led conferences modelled on Asilomar in 1975 (see Nature 526, 293–294; 2015) without any clear consensus is futile.

December 13, 2018 9:15 am

Trump administration halts study that would use fetal tissue ‘to discover a cure for HIV’ (The Washington Post)

The shutdown of the HIV research at the federal lab in Montana, first reported in Science, was never disclosed publicly by government officials, who have forbidden affected researchers from discussing what happened. But colleagues say they are incensed by the action, which has fanned a controversy that pits the biomedical research community against antiabortion activists and other social conservatives pressing the administration to stop the flow of federal grants and contracts for work involving fetal tissue. Such tissue comes from elective abortions.

December 11, 2018 9:15 am

The CRISPR Baby Scandal Gets Worse by the Day (The Atlantic)

Before last week, few people had heard the name He Jiankui. But on November 25, the young Chinese researcher became the center of a global firestorm when it emerged that he had allegedly made the first crispr-edited babies, twin girls named Lulu and Nana. Antonio Regalado broke the story for MIT Technology Review, and He himself described the experiment at an international gene-editing summit in Hong Kong. After his talk, He revealed that another early pregnancy is under way.

It is still unclear if He did what he claims to have done. Nonetheless, the reaction was swift and negative. The crispr pioneer Jennifer Doudna says she was “horrified,” NIH Director Francis Collins said the experiment was “profoundly disturbing,” and even Julian Savulescu, an ethicist who has described gene-editing research as “a moral necessity,” described He’s work as “monstrous.”

December 9, 2018 12:47 pm

Why Are Scientists So Upset About the First Crispr Babies? (The New York Times)

A Chinese scientist recently claimed he had produced the world’s first gene-edited babies, setting off a global firestorm. If true — the scientist has not yet published data that would confirm it — his actions would be a sensational breach of international scientific conventions. Although gene editing holds promise to potentially correct dangerous disease-causing mutations and treat some medical conditions, there are many safety and ethical concerns about editing human embryos.

Here are answers to some of the numerous questions swirling around this development.

December 8, 2018 10:15 am

Microsoft calls for laws to prevent facial recognition AI from hurting consumers (The LA Times)

December 5, 2018 9:15 am

Genetically Modified People Are Walking Among Us (The New York Times)

It felt as if humanity had crossed an important line: In China, a scientist named He Jiankui announced on Monday that twins had been born in November with a gene that he had edited when they were embryos.

But in some ways this news is not new at all. A few genetically modified people already walk among us.

December 2, 2018 9:00 am

Battle Against Ebola in Congo Pits Medical Hope Against Local Chaos (The New York Times)

A vaccine and new treatments are on hand, but the outbreak is in an area rife with unpredictable gunfire, bandits and suspicion of outsiders.

November 30, 2018 11:59 am

China Halts Work by Scientist Who Says He Edited Babies’ Genes (New York Times)

BEIJING — China said on Thursday that it had suspended the work of a scientist who claims to have created the world’s first genetically edited babies, saying his conduct appeared to be unethical and in violation of Chinese law.

The scientist, He Jiankui, announced on Monday that he had used the gene-editing technique Crispr to alter embryos, which he implanted in the womb of a woman who gave birth to twin girls this month. At an international conference on Wednesday, he asserted that he was proud of what he had done.

November 28, 2018 9:15 am

Outbreak Culture: The Ebola Crisis and the Next Epidemic (The Washington Post)

When Ebola broke out in West Africa in 2014, it spread with dizzying speed — and outwitted responders. By the time the epidemic ended in 2016, more than 28,000 people had been infected and 11,325 had died. It didn’t have to be that way, write Pardis Sabeti and Lara Salahi. In “Outbreak Culture: The Ebola Crisis and the Next Epidemic,” they uncover the chaos behind the world’s response to the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak, and posit how it could have been avoided.

November 27, 2018 9:15 am

Task Force Calls for Offering PrEP to All at High Risk for H.I.V. (The New York Times)

An influential government task force has drafted a recommendationthat would for the first time urge doctors to offer a daily prophylactic pill to patients who are at risk for contracting H.I.V. The recommendation would include all men and women whose sexual behavior, sex partners or drug use place them at high risk of contracting the virus that causes AIDS.