China's leadThe public issue, in my mind, is that many opposing human cells see the next logical step as a full blown program to produce genetically engineered human. I'm very skeptical that the science is going to go that far, that fast. To start, through CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing is pretty specific, it's known to have off-targets, and those off-target regions depend on the site being edited.
Fan’s team began its experiments in early 2014 and originally submitted the paper to Cell Stem Cell, Fan says. By the time the manuscript ended up on the desk of David Albertini, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, a different Guanghzou-based team had become the first to report human-embryo-editing experiments. That paper, which tried to correct a mutation that causes a blood disease, fed into a firestorm over the ethics of modifying human reproductive cells (or ‘germline’ modification). Some researchers called for a moratorium even on proof-of-principle research in non-viable embryos. ...
Fan’s paper should help to reassure international observers about the legitimacy of human-embryo-editing research in China, says Robin Lovell-Badge, a developmental biologist at the Crick. More such embryo-editing papers are likely to be published, he adds. “I know that there are papers floating around in review,” he says.“I’d much rather everything was out in the open.”
Until all the consequences of editing a specific site (including unintentional targets) are determined to be 'safe', human CRISPR experiments in embryos should remain very basic. First things first.
