Navigating the Future in a Sea of Crispr Uncertainty

Humanity's toolkit for altering the world we live in now includes CRISPR. Through an evolutionary process, bacteria acquired a way to protect themselves from an invading virus, making their immediate future more secure. In human hands, this powerful genome-editing tool offers the potential to i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Zygon
Main Author: Bertka, Constance M. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell [2020]
In: Zygon
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B CRISP/Cas method / Science ethics / Science policy / Unitarian Universalist Association
RelBib Classification:AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism
NCH Medical ethics
NCJ Ethics of science
VA Philosophy
Further subjects:B Bioengineering
B CRISPR
B Biomedicine
B germline
B gene editing
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:Humanity's toolkit for altering the world we live in now includes CRISPR. Through an evolutionary process, bacteria acquired a way to protect themselves from an invading virus, making their immediate future more secure. In human hands, this powerful genome-editing tool offers the potential to impact, at a breathtaking rate, not only our own evolutionary future, but the future of other life on this planet. Ethical concerns about altering genomes are not new, but the birth of two CRISPR gene-edited babies last year created a renewed urgency around navigating the future and the lack of an agreed-upon map to guide us is distressing. The goal of this article is not to provide that map but to suggest two essential questions, drawn from the context of events surrounding CRISPR to date, that should guide its drafting—“Who do we trust?” and “When is it time to act?”—and to consider what Unitarian Universalism might contribute to answering those questions.
ISSN:1467-9744
Contains:Enthalten in: Zygon
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/zygo.12593