
The Triple Helix (2000) - walterbell
http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/lewontin/tripleh.htm
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walterbell
On a related note, [http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/dec/03/gene-
editing-...](http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/dec/03/gene-editing-
summit-rules-out-ban-on-embryos-destined-to-become-people-dna-human)

" _A landmark meeting of scientists convened to debate the future of human
gene editing has ruled out a ban on modifying human embryos that are destined
to become people … but … made clear that altering the DNA of human embryos for
clinical purposes was unacceptable given the unknown risks today and noted
that even the most compelling cases to use the procedure were limited.

…the national academies of the US, UK and China … considered: the potential
for therapies in adult tissues, such as blood cells and muscles; the ethics of
modifying embryos for research only; and most importantly whether altering the
DNA of human embryos to prevent inherited diseases was acceptable and
useful."_

And
[http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/201...](http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2015/11/crispr_genetic_modification_should_not_be_used_on_humans.html)

 _" … The CRISPR system has a combination of tools that allow it to locate
specific genomic addresses, snip DNA with a molecular scissors right there,
and then rewrite the genetic code at the site of the cut … research using
CRISPR to produce genetically modified animals suggests that the same system
could in principle successfully create human designer babies … I call these
hypothetical genetically modified human beings GMO sapiens as a mashup of GMO
and Homo sapiens …

In China just a few months ago, researchers said they already did just that
and sparked a firestorm in the science community. Strangely, the public has
been relatively unaware of this development and the ensuing debate. The
researchers made genetically modified human embryos as a research exercise and
let them develop for only a few days in the lab. But if someone else followed
suit and simply implanted the CRISPR’d human embryos into a surrogate, then
boom—we may have the first GMO sapiens."_

