A computer illustration of a cross-section of a mitochondrion and its internal structure with DNA (gray), ribosomes (light green), granules (yellow) and ATP synthase particles (light blue).
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The nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett has implications for how assisted reproductive technologies, which can prevent the transmission of disease from parents to child, are regulated.
American biochemist Jennifer A. Doudna, left, and French microbiologist Emmanuelle Charpentier were awarded this year’s Nobel Prize for chemistry.
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The tools to rewrite the genetic code to improve crops and livestock, or to treat genetic diseases, has revolutionized biology. A CRISPR engineer explains why this technology won the Nobel, and its potential.
The team used CRISPR on human embryos in a bid to render them resistant to HIV infection. But instead, they generated different mutations, about which we know nothing.
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A number of things may have gone wrong when researchers edited Chinese twins Lulu and Nana’s genome. Either way, the failed experiment is a cautionary tale for us all.
CRISPR technology could have momentous effects if it’s used to edit genes that will be inherited by future generations. Researchers and ethicists continue to weigh appropriate guidelines.
Should parents be allowed to build their babies by design?
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Imagine a future society where parents can choose the characteristics of their children. Does that turn babies into consumer products., and what choice does the child get?
In a masterfully manipulative Youtube video, He Jiankui tells the world about the first genetically edited babies.
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
To announce the world’s first gene-edited babies, scientist He Jiankui did what movie directors do: release a trailer on YouTube. The video is a positive spin on unauthorized gene editing.
He Jiankui, a Chinese researcher, speaks during the Human Genome Editing Conference in Hong Kong, Nov. 28, 2018. He made his first public comments about his claim of making the world’s first gene-edited babies.
AP Photo/Kin Cheung
Chinese researcher He Jiankui told a spellbound audience how he created gene-edited babies. With a couple of revealing slides, we can see what he did and speculate what health problems might ensue.