Human Gene Editing: Where Does the 2017 National Academy of Sciences Report Bring Us?
Authors: Jonathan D. Moreno
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2017)

Ideas and Opinions2 May 2017Human Gene Editing: Where Does the 2017 National Academy of Sciences Report Bring Us?Jonathan D. Moreno, PhDJonathan D. Moreno, PhDFrom University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M17-0457 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail The release of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (Academies) report on human gene editing signifies an effort to establish responsible policies and practices in a fast-moving new field of science (1). In contrast to the field of computing, where Moore's law describes a doubling of capacity roughly every 2 years, genetic technology has no metric of progress analogous to increasingly dense integrated circuits. But genetics can boast its own impressive story about techniques of increasing laboratory power, one that might be said to have started in 1972, when David Jackson, Robert Symons, and Paul Berg described gene ...References1. The National Academies of Science, Engineering,and Medicine. Human Genome Editing: Science, Ethics, and Governance. Washington, DC: National Academies Pr; 2017. doi:10.17226/24623 CrossrefGoogle Scholar2. Jackson DA, Symons RH, Berg P. Biochemical method for inserting new genetic information into DNA of Simian Virus 40: circular SV40 DNA molecules containing lambda phage genes and the galactose operon of Escherichia coli. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1972;69:2904-9. [PMID: 4342968] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Berg P, Baltimore D, Boyer HW, Cohen SN, Davis RW, Hogness DS, et al. Letter: potential biohazards of recombinant DNA molecules. Science. 1974;185:303. [PMID: 4600381] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Berg P, Baltimore D, Brenner S, Roblin RO, Singer MF. Summary statement of the Asilomar conference on recombinant DNA molecules. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1975;72:1981-4. [PMID: 806076] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Berg P, Singer MF. The recombinant DNA controversy: twenty years later. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1995;92:9011-3. [PMID: 7568062] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Cho SW, Kim S, Kim JM, Kim JS. Targeted genome engineering in human cells with the Cas9 RNA-guided endonuclease. Nat Biotechnol. 2013;31:230-2. [PMID: 23360966] doi:10.1038/nbt.2507 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Baltimore D, Berg P, Botchan M, Carroll D, Charo RA, Church G, et al. Biotechnology. A prudent path forward for genomic engineering and germline gene modification. Science. 2015;348:36-8. [PMID: 25791083] doi:10.1126/science.aab1028 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Splicing Life: A Report on the Social and Ethical Issues of Genetic Engineering with Human Beings. Washington, DC: President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research; 1982. Google Scholar9. UNESCO. Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. Paris: UNESCO; 19 October 2005. Google Scholar10. President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Splicing Life: A Report on the Social and Ethical Issues of Genetic Engineering with Human Beings. Washington, DC: President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research; 1982:72-3. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Disclosures: The author has disclosed no conflicts of interest. The form can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M17-0457.Corresponding Author: Jonathan D. Moreno, PhD, Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, University of Pennsylvania, Blockley Hall, 14th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104; e-mail, [email protected]med.upenn.edu.Author Contributions: Drafting of the article: J.D. Moreno.Final approval of the article: J.D. Moreno.This article was published at Annals.org on 28 February 2017. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics 2 May 2017Volume 166, Issue 9Page: 667-668KeywordsBioethicsClustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeatsDNAGenetic engineeringGeneticsRNAResearch laboratoriesRisk managementScience policyScientists ePublished: 28 February 2017 Issue Published: 2 May 2017 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2017 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...