The Daily - The Ethics of Genetically Editing Babies

Ever since scientists created the powerful gene-editing technique Crispr, they have braced for the day when it would be used to produce a genetically altered human being. Now, the moment they feared may have come. What’s likely to happen next? We also look at the latest updates on a possible government shutdown. Guests: Jennifer Senior, an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, and Carl Zimmer, a science columnist for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. What do you think about "The Daily"? Please fill out our listener survey at nytimes.com/thedailysurvey.

Duration: 25m
Broadcast on: 19 Dec 2018
Audio Format: other

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Like every family, my family has its share of messed up genes. We have autoimmune diseases, we have cancer, we have conditions that are so obscure they are known only by their weird acronyms. And usually when you are walking around the world, you are not thinking about this very much. But the second that you decide to have a kid, of course you do. Jen Senior is a columnist at the Times. It's exactly what you're thinking about. All of these potential unwanted genetic inheritances that you might pass along. So when I first heard about this technology several years ago called CRISPR, I describe it as a surgery for the cell. I was of course intrigued. You know, it's sort of making precise changes to the code of life. Scientists say it could someday eliminate inherited diseases. Because here is a way that you could potentially individually slice out all of these culprit genes from your DNA. It means that we can control human evolution now. Essentially anything that is alive, we can manipulate the script. But of course, as a journalist and a skeptical consumer of the news, I also understood all of the concern. It opens the door to designer babies. Many scientists, including CRISPR's developer Jennifer Doudna, are calling for a moratorium on its use in humans. The technology was new. It was crude. And are we wise enough to tame ourselves in the presence of this awesome power? We are tempering with our heredity here. This is a uncrossable Rubicon for so many. Congress has banned turning gene-edited embryos into babies. And that is why as popular as it is to use CRISPR in a lab, there are many regulations both here and abroad that prohibit its use on human embryos.

And then about a month ago, the Chinese researcher has created an international controversy over science and ethics after claiming he helped make the world's first genetically edited babies. Someone did cross this uncrossable Rubicon. The researcher altered embryos for seven couples during fertility treatments. It created this international kerfuffle. People were freaking out. Scientists were decrying it. They were claiming it. They were calling each other on the phone. The line has been crossed. I should not have been crossed. It's very disturbing. It's inappropriate. Oh, this is huge. So I thought, okay, I want to talk to a colleague of mine about this. So we're recording that? Yeah. Chris Patok. Yes. His name is Carl Zimmer. He has given a lot of thought to CRISPR over the years. How are you, Carl? I'm well. How are you? And he's the man to explain it.

Family is a society's bedrock. Our children are the center of family life. In China, there is a scientist named Hejiang Kui. A gene defect should not take away a change in life. And a gene defect should not prevent a loving couple to start their family. And when he found out about CRISPR a few years ago, he apparently decided that he was going to tinker with the DNA of human embryos and then implant those embryos so that they would become full-blown people. Two beautiful little Chinese girl named Lulu and Lana came crying into the world as healthy as any other babies a few weeks ago. And according to Dr. Head, two baby girls were born in November who were genetically modified with CRISPR. I understand that my work will be controversial, but I believe family need this technology and I'm willing to take the criticism for them. How were they modified and why did he do

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