Gene-Editing Humans, Asymmetry, Ancient Whale Ancestor. Nov 30, 2018, Part 2

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🗓️ 30 November 2018

⏱️ 48 minutes

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Summary

The first CRISPR-edited babies are (probably) here. The news raises social, ethical, and regulatory questions—for both scientists and society. Then, why are human bodies asymmetrical? A single protein could help explain why. And finally, ever wondered how whales got their mouth bristles? It's possible that they went through a phase where they sucked up their food like vacuums before they evolved baleen.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Science Friday. I'm Ira Flato. This week, a Chinese scientist made a stunning announcement.
0:07.1	He claimed to have used CRISPR to edit the genome of embryos to alter a gene that plays a role in HIV infection.
0:16.1	And then twin girls were born earlier this month from these embryos and there may be more babies.
0:24.3	The Chinese government halted research in this area and the committee of the Second International
0:28.8	Summit on Human Genome Editing, which happened this week in Hong Kong,
0:34.5	released a statement that said, quote, it would be irresponsible,
0:37.9	irresponsible to proceed with any clinical use of heritable germline.
0:44.0	Is this taking CRISPR too far?
0:46.5	What are some of the ethical, social, and regulatory ideas that we should be thinking
0:51.3	as gene editing technology moves forward.
0:54.7	Where would you draw the line with gene editing?
0:57.0	What questions do you have about CRISPR and what it can do?
1:00.7	We want to hear from you.
1:01.7	Our number, 844-724-8255.
1:05.6	That's 844-724-8255.
1:08.6	You can also tweet us at SciFri. That's what we're going to be talking about with my next
1:14.2	guests. Josephine Johnston is a bioethicist and director of research at the Hastings Center in Garrison,
1:20.6	New York. Welcome to Science Friday. Thanks for helping me back. You're welcome. Paula Cannon is a
1:25.8	professor of molecular microbiology and immunology
1:28.9	at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Welcome to
1:35.2	Science Friday. Hello, Ira. And as I say, number 844-724-8255 if you would like to chime in.
1:43.7	Paula, the scientist, doctor, he did not publish a study or show the data, so right now it's still a claim, but you think he actually did gene edit these kids?
	...

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