VOX.COM: We are now one step closer to designer babies. Using a technique called CRISPR, geneticists in China recently modified the DNA of nonviable human embryos and published the results in the journal Protein & Cell.
Editing the genetic material of human embryos was a first — and the April 18 publication of the results set off a cascade of awe and controversy.
“While these embryos will not be growing up into genetically modified people,” science journalist Carl Zimmer wrote in National Geographic, “I suspect this week will go down as a pivotal moment in the history of medicine.”
Some observers highlighted the potential upsides of this type of DNA modification. One cell researcher told Forbes that CRISPR technology might someday help people “suffering from blood diseases like Beta thalassemia and leukemia, [since they] could have their blood cells’ DNA fixed.” Others suggested CRISPR could help tackle infectious diseases, “possibly providing a way to make more specific antibiotics that target only disease-causing bacterial strains while sparing beneficial bacteria,” according to Ekaterina Pak, a Harvard PhD student
