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Interested in responsible gene editing? Join the (new) club
A group of European scientists has founded an international association to discuss and provide guidance on the ethical use of genome editing, a technique with the potential to transform everything from food production and human health to science itself. Organizers launched the new Association for Responsible Research and Innovation in Genome Editing (ARRIGE) at a kick-off meeting in Paris this past Friday.
The high hopes and fears around gene editing—which has the potential to lead to new crops and the elimination of diseases, but also to "designer babies" or insects running amok—have been the topic of dozens of meetings and reports, including a high-profile "summit" in Washington, D.C., in 2015. National science academies and councils, the Council of Europe, and several professional societies have weighed in.
But some researchers worry that the debate isn't broad enough, or lacks the kind of dialogue needed to reach a societal consensus on the introduction of such a pathbreaking new technology. At the Washington, D.C., summit, for instance, "discussion split into two camps: scientific experts explored technical issues, whereas scholars who study science and society addressed questions about the possible disruption to social norms," Sheila Jasanoff of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and Benjamin Hurlbut of Arizona State University in Tempe wrote last week in a commentary in Nature. "The two camps did not inform each other."
Where's the club for irresponsible gene editing (and encryption)?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 29 2018, @12:01AM (3 children)
Think about the 'vaccines cause autism' meme that was going on for awhile. If people thought it through logically they would realize they were being silly. That was through a lack of action causing another action. They would put their kids at risk because of the idea that they may make their kid sick. When the opposite was true. Now you expect these same people who acted so rationally before to ignore something like the possibility that they could create a kid with a 200IQ and is very beautiful? Yeah pull the other one. These people will make it happen. Bank on it. The people willing to ignore the 'ethics' of it will.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday March 29 2018, @12:09AM (2 children)
that meme is still going strong on Facebook.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 29 2018, @12:51AM
Oh of that I have 0 doubt. Probably depends on the circles you are in. Mine have mostly stopped doing it so maybe I overstated a bit. These will be the same people who want designer babies.
(Score: 3, Touché) by JoeMerchant on Thursday March 29 2018, @02:56AM
And in the White House...
🌻🌻 [google.com]