Bay Area Startups Want to Make Genetically Engineered Babies. What Could Go Wrong?

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 3 December 2025

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the U.S., it’s illegal to edit genes in human embryos with the intention of creating a genetically engineered baby. But according to the Wall Street Journal, Bay Area startups are focused on just that. It wouldn’t be the first such baby: in 2018, a Chinese scientist announced he had altered embryos to create a baby immune from HIV. He was sentenced to prison for the illegal practice of medicine. In the US and across the globe, ethical concerns about gene editing embryos to eliminate disease and replicate certain traits like a higher IQ are raising alarms. We’ll talk to experts about what is at stake and how innovations in genetic engineering are being directed. Guests: Dr. Fyodor Urnov, Professor of Molecular Therapeutics, University of California, Berkeley - Urnov is also the scientific director at its Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) Katherine Long, reporter, investigations team, Wall Street Journal - Long's latest piece is titled "Genetically Engineered Babies Are Banned. Tech Titans Are Trying to Make One Anyway" Katie Hasson, executive director, Center for Genetics and Society Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This week on Bay Curious.
0:02.1	I'm Gabriella Glick.
0:03.5	The Nimitz House is this grand looking house tucked underneath the Bay Bridge's eastern span.
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0:48.3	From KQED. Welcome to Forum. I'm Grace Wan, in for Alexis Madrigal. Seven years ago, a Chinese scientist, Ho-Jean Kui, announced that he had helped produce genetically engineered babies, eliminating HIV from their embryos.
1:04.0	He did not win the Nobel Prize. Instead, he went to jail.
1:08.0	In the U.S., and in many other countries, it's illegal to modify a human
1:12.3	embryo with the intention of giving birth to a baby. But according to a Wall Street Journal investigation,
1:17.7	that has not stopped a handful of Bay Area startups from trying to genetically engineer embryos.
1:23.3	Joining us to talk about the science and the ethics of these endeavors, we're joined by Dr. Fidor
1:28.0	Ernov, professor of molecular therapeutics at UC Berkeley and a scientific director at its
1:33.1	Innovative Genomics Institute. Welcome to Forum, Dr. Ernoff. Good morning. Thank you for having you.
1:38.2	We also have Katie Hassan. She's the executive director at the Center for Genetics and Society. Welcome, Katie.
1:45.3	Welcome. Good morning.
1:49.7	And we have Catherine Long, a reporter on the investigations team at the Wall Street Journal.
1:55.0	She co-wrote the piece, genetically engineered babies are banned. Tech Titans are trying to make one anyway. Welcome, Catherine. So happy to be here. Thanks. Well, Catherine, I wanted to start with you. Your piece
	...

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