Beyond the Science: Where Are the Safeguards in Gene Editing?
Every country, every person on the earth has a stake in what happens in this realm of science.
Setup
No argument against genomic editing is going to halt that advancing science, given the remarkable potential of CRISPR and other disruptive technologies to treat or cure disease. But the pace of knowledge has come at breakneck speed, outpacing dialogue about the ethics and safety of altering human DNA. The announcement last November that a Chinese researcher had created the first genetically edited babies sent shivers through the research community. Recognizing the need to develop international guidelines, scientific leaders have come together to consider the societal, legal, and ethical implications of gene editing. An international commission with representatives from scientific academies around the world and a World Health Organization expert advisory committee are both studying the issue. What’s the wisest approach?
- 2019 Health
- Full transcript
Explore More
World
The world seems to be moving and evolving faster than ever before, and democratic ideals are under threat in many countries around the globe. New York Times columnist and jour...
The international community faces unprecedented threats. What will geopolitical arrangements look like going forward? Is it time to rethink America’s relationship with China?...
Populations around the world have been electing more and more autocratic leaders in the past couple decades, via supposedly free, fair, and democratic elections. The freedom o...
At the 2023 Aspen Ideas Festival, we dug into some of the most important and fascinating issues of our time, from rebuilding trust in our institutions and the promise and peri...
In this new Aspen Ideas format, all attendees gather each morning to kick off the day by exploring a current issue of deep complexity. With heightened political tensions an...
With the dream of the Oslo Accords long in the rear-view mirror and no prospect of an agreement between Israelis and Palestinians ahead, is it time to give up on the two-state...
In this new Aspen Ideas format, all attendees gather each morning to kick off the day by exploring a current issue of deep complexity. For decades, American policy regardin...
How fast can the world really move off hydrocarbons, and are we underestimating deep macroeconomic analyses of the energy transition in our policymaking? Two financiers delve...
The war in Ukraine has once again highlighted the importance of international alliances, and that is certainly evident on the African continent, where the world’s superpowers...
As Israel marks its 75th birthday, the existential challenges it faces don’t only come from geopolitical vulnerabilities. How will the Jewish state confront internal divisions...
Hostage-taking presents nations with a conundrum: How can governments bring their citizens home while also preventing further captures? The United States’s top hostage negotia...
The Afternoon of Conversation is the Aspen Ideas Festival's pinnacle programming moment. Over 2,000 people gather in the Benedict Music Tent, an open-air venue with acoustics...
With renewed conflict on the international stage, India’s decades-long policy of nonalignment, together with its surpassing China as the most populous nation, have arguably po...
Ongoing war in Ukraine and the resulting tensions between the West, Russia, and China have made the NATO alliance all the more significant, and yet perhaps more vulnerable. Wh...
Since the dawn of the Olympics, sports have been a contest of global powers. Today, how are sports used as a means of conducting foreign policy — for better and for worse?
Across the globe, free and fair elections have given rise to autocratic regimes. Have we underestimated the fragility of democracy and overestimated its value? (Book signing w...
Does going electric mean buying lithium from Russia and Venezuela? What happens if the United States takes carbon action while competitors don’t? Experts weigh in on the geopo...
The festival kicks off with thought leaders sharing fresh ideas about bridging divides, having better conversations, and encouraging creativity. A conversation with Saudi Arab...
We are in a golden age for organized crime and corruption, according to watchdog groups. Bad actors have spent decades building tangled webs of enablers and tactics, and they...
Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and since then, the war has proven longer and costlier than what the Kremlin might have expected. Ukrainian resistanc...
