Biologists seek moratorium on method of editing the human genome

A group of leading biologists hascalled for a worldwide moratorium on the use of a new genome-editing technique that would alter human DNA in a way that can be inherited.

The biologists fear that the new technique is so effective and easy to use that some physicians may push ahead with it before its safety can be assessed. They also want the public to understand the ethical issues surrounding the technique, which could be used to cure genetic diseases, but also to enhance qualities like beauty or intelligence. The latter is a path that many ethicists believe should never be taken.

"You could exert control over human heredity with this technique, and that is why we are raising the issue," said David Baltimore, a former president of the California Institute of Technology and a member of the group whose paper on the topic was published in the journal Science on Thursday.

Ethicists have been concerned for decades about the dangers of altering the human germline, which involves changes to human sperm, eggs or embryos that will last through the life of the individual and be passed on to future generations.

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Until now, these worries have been theoretical, but a technique invented in 2012 makes it possible to edit the genome precisely and with much greater ease. The technique has already been used to edit the genomes of mice, rats and monkeys, and few doubt that it would work the same way in people.

The technique holds the power to repair or enhance any human gene. "It raises the most fundamental of issues about how we are going to view our humanity in the future and whether we are going to take the dramatic step of modifying our own germline and in a sense take control of our genetic destiny, which raises enormous peril for humanity," said George Daley, a stem cell expert at Boston Children's Hospital and a member of the group.

The biologists writing in Science support continuing laboratory research with the technique, and few if any scientists believe it is ready for clinical use. Any such use is tightly regulated in the United States and Europe. American scientists, for instance, would have to present a plan to treat genetic diseases in the human germline to the Food and Drug Administration.

However, the paper's authorsare concerned about countries that have less regulation in science. They urge scientists to"avoid even attempting, in lax jurisdictions, germline genome modification for clinical application in humans" until the full implications "are discussed among scientific and governmental organisations".

Though such a moratorium would not be legally enforceable and might seem unlikely to exert global influence, there is a precedent. In 1975, scientists worldwide were asked to refrain from using a method for manipulating genes, the recombinant DNA technique, until rules had been established.

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Biologists seek moratorium on method of editing the human genome