HUMAN GENOME EDITING
What is possible and what is problematic

Discussion led by

Douglas Lauffenburger
Chair, Bioengineering Dept, MIT

MIT Thirsty Ear

May 8, 2015

Rapid advances in molecular biotechnology methods are dramatically enhancing the capability for editing the genomes of higher organisms, including humans, with exquisite specificity.  The power of these methods is raising tremendous promise for valuable medical applications, and at the same time raising serious ethical concerns about potential misuse.  This event is intended to offer information on these new and developing methods and facilitate discussion of relevant issues.

To hear the lecture, please follow along with the slides in the pdf below. The first 13 minute section provides an overview of the topic. Doug then showed a video clip which is embedded below. Following the clip in the link below is a 33 minute discussion of the ethical  implications. At the bottom of this page is a link to the NYTimes article on May 10, 2015, about Jennifer Doudna, one of the co-inventors of the technique.

Slides (pdf)

Discussion: Overview (mp3, 13 minutes)

Video Clip: CRISPR/cas9 (embedded YouTube, 4 minutes)

Discussion: Ethical issues (mp3, 33 minutes)

NYTimes article:  Doudna