Genetic Engineering
We’re going to give ourselves a power that we may not have the wisdom to control very well - Michael Bess
image by: Aleutie
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The Genetic Engineering Generation
Over a year ago, I read an article about the genetic engineering of human embryos and I immediately knew that the world was in trouble...
It’s not that I’m afraid of scientific progress or the eventual certainty that our species will customize offspring like video game characters. I accept that people will one day be born who are immune to cancer, asthma, and blindness. When that day comes, when the benefits of genetic engineering have been studied, tested, and perfected, the results will be extraordinary: a world where - physically speaking at least - no one will ever be born unlucky.
Creating a world free from the misfortunes of birth defects and genetic diseases will…
Featured
Frankenfood
The future is now and what’s out there already in terms of genetic engineering is just the tip of the iceberg - Dr. Wolfgang Frankenheimer
Articles of Interest
A Scientific Discovery That Makes Genetic Engineering Safer To Use
Genetic engineering is tricky business. Its potential for good, for bad, and for unintended consequences is almost unlimited. How do you realize the good while avoiding the bad?
Building a Better Human With Science? The Public Says, No Thanks
Pew asked about three techniques that might emerge in the future but that are not even close to ready now: using gene editing to protect babies from disease, implanting chips in the brain to improve people’s ability to think, and transfusing synthetic blood that would enhance performance by increasing speed, strength and endurance.
Genetic Engineering Can Change The World For The Better
A recent article in the New York Times reported how scientists had for the first time "successfully edited genes in human embryos to repair a common and serious disease-causing mutation, producing apparently healthy embryos..." This news raises questions about who might control the technology that makes this possible.
Genetically engineered humans will arrive sooner than you think. And we're not ready
Artificial intelligence has become the pet anxiety of luminaries like Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Stephen Hawking. They have all expressed concerns about our Promethean quest to develop machine intelligence, and those concerns seem to be spreading every day. But there’s another dimension of technological change that ought to worry us every bit as much as AI, if not more so. Bioengineering has already allowed human beings to take control of their own evolution. Whether it’s emergent cloning technologies or advanced gene therapy, we’re quickly approaching a world in which humans can — and will — change the way they live and die.
Genetically Engineering Pigs to Grow Organs for People
With the ability to engineer a donor pig, pig organs can go beyond simply matching a human organ. For example, Cooper says, you could engineer organs to protect themselves from the immune system in the long term, perhaps by making their own localized dose of immunosuppressant drugs.
Genomics and Human Genetic Engineering
One of the newest genomic technologies that is causing considerable ethical consternation is CRISPR-cas9, which is expected to be the largest and fastest-growing segment of the global genome editing market over the next five years.
Is Genetic Engineering A Good Thing For Humanity?
The reason I think it has been largely advantageous is that there aren’t many examples of genetic manipulations with bad consequences, and there are countless examples of good, beneficial developments.
It’s Time to Stop Asking Whether Human Genetic Engineering “Should” Happen and Start Planning to Manage it Safely
This gene editing controversy is a reminder that we are losing the capacity to effectively ask, “Should we?” As our knowledge of science grows, becomes more globalized, and is increasingly easy to acquire for people with different morals, needs and wants, we must soon be ready to ask, “Can we?” and ultimately, “Will someone?” Their answers will give us the best chance to ensure any babies that may come from any technique described as “genetic engineering” are born healthy, happy, and able to thrive.
Listening for the Public Voice
Discussions about genetic engineering in humans need input from nonexperts.
Scientists can now genetically engineer humans. A big new report asks whether we should.
But the really big question — the stuff of sci-fi — is whether we’ll use genome-editing tools on people to wipe out heritable diseases or to enhance human capabilities. It’s no longer a question of whether we’ll be able to create “designer babies”: The technology is improving at a stunning pace. Instead, it’s a question of whether we should. It’s an ethics question, a policy question.
What Natural Genetic Engineering Does and Does Not Mean
If experiments show that cells can make distinct appropriate NGE responses to different adaptive challenges occurs, we need to figure out how they do so. This almost certainly would prove to be more than a strictly mechanical process.
Resources
Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), the only high-frequency publication dedicated to biotech news, from bench to business, was introduced in 1981 as the first biotechnology trade publication.
The Genetic Engineering Debate
Debating genetic engineering, genetic modification, proposition 37, biotechnology, transgenic organisms, synthetic life, patenting life, monsanto, corporate control, evolution, labeling, GMOs, food security, education, democracy and the sacred.
Caribou Biosciences
Our singular focus is on the advancement of new applications for CRISPR-Cas gene editing that will help bring the tremendous promise this technology holds for patients and consumers to reality.
Editas Medicine
Editas Medicine is building the leading genome editing company dedicated to treating patients with genetically defined diseases.
GENET
GENET is a European network of non-governmental non-profit organisations engaged in the critical debate of genetic engineering, founded in 1995. GENET's mission is to provide information on genetic engineering to its member organisations and the interested public and to support their activities and campaigns.
Ginkgo Bioworks
Ginkgo Bioworks is the organism company. We design custom microbes for customers across multiple markets. We build our foundries to scale the process of organism engineering using software and hardware automation. Organism engineers at Ginkgo learn from nature to develop new organisms that replace technology with biology.
Large Animal Genetic Engineering Summit
Remarkable developments in genome editing are revolutionizing medicine and agriculture as large animal genomes can, for the first time, be modified with sophistication and efficiency so far only achievable in the mouse.
TEDBlog
Stories for "genetic engineering".
The International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
The International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology provides a scientific and educational environment of the highest standard and conducts innovative research in life sciences for the benefit of developing countries.
