genetic engineering « Berman Institute Bioethics Bulletin

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A Dying Teenager’s Recovery Started in the Dirt

May 9, 2019

One of the viruses used to treat her infections came from the side of a rotting South African eggplant

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UN Treaty Agrees to Limit Gene Drives But Rejects a Moratorium

November 30, 2018

Treaty’s vague language on how researchers can release engineered organisms has both opponents and supporters of the technology claiming victory

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Scientists Are Creating a Perfect Tomato that Europe Likely Won’t Touch

October 4, 2018

Even if tomato growers one day manage to produce a near-perfect fruit—one that’s beautiful, juicy, nutritious, and tasty—there’s a good chance that half a billion people would automatically be denied the chance to even try it

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China Is Genetically Engineering Monkeys With Brain Disorders

June 8, 2018

A visit to a facility in Guangdong province, where researchers are tinkering with monkey brains in order to understand the most severe forms of autism. With comments from our Jeffrey Kahn

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Genome ‘Writers’ Set Their First Goal

May 2, 2018

Recoding human cells to resist viruses. Its birth in 2016 was greeted with near hysteria over “secret meetings” and dire warnings about hubristic scientists creating made-from-scratch human genomes and designer babies. But two years in, an ambitious project to synthesize genomes — including human — is moving on from its shaky start and plunging in to the practical work of creating better genomes than nature

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Why CRISPR-Edited Food May Be in Supermarkets Sooner Than You Think

January 17, 2018

In September, the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave the green light to a version of the plant Camelina sativa, an important oilseed crop that had been genetically engineered using CRISPR to produce enhanced omega-3 oil. What was interesting about this approval was that the USDA did not ask that the inventors of the plant endure the usual regulatory hoops required to sell biotech crops

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Bioethics in Action

January 12, 2018

This two-part series, uses resources in The New York Times to help students explore difficult ethical questions

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Bioethics in Action

Friday, January 12th, 2018

Part I: Helping Students Explore Difficult Questions in Health Care

Bioethics is a broad, interdisciplinary field. Its subject matter encompasses many of the most controversial and weighty matters facing contemporary society, including aid in dying or assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, artificial reproduction, genetic engineering, organ transplantation, medical marijuana and health care rationing.

In this first part of a two-part series, we use resources in The Times to help students explore difficult ethical questions related to patient autonomy, physician autonomy and scarce resources, such as:

• Should fertility clinics be required to offer services to gay or lesbian couples?
• Should parents have the right to refuse lifesaving medical care for their children because of religious beliefs?
• Should limits be placed on the amount of money the government spends on any one patient’s health care?

One of the most difficult challenges in the field of bioethics is balancing the needs of individual patients against the welfare of society.

In Part II of a two-part lesson series, we ask students to do just that: to balance the interests of patients against each other and in relation to the broader population. Using resources in The Times, we have students consider complex questions, like:

• How should scarce health care resources, such as livers for transplant, be allocated?
• Should organ donors be paid?
• What limits, if any, should be placed on the field of human “genetic engineering”?
• Should lithium be added to the drinking water supply if it can be proved to lower suicide rates in the larger population?

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You May Already Be Immune to CRISPR

January 9, 2018

The human immune system can hinder the gene-editing tool, though there could be ways around it

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A Dying Teenager’s Recovery Started in the Dirt

A Dying Teenager’s Recovery Started in the Dirt

UN Treaty Agrees to Limit Gene Drives But Rejects a Moratorium

UN Treaty Agrees to Limit Gene Drives But Rejects a Moratorium

Scientists Are Creating a Perfect Tomato that Europe Likely Won’t Touch

Scientists Are Creating a Perfect Tomato that Europe Likely Won’t Touch

China Is Genetically Engineering Monkeys With Brain Disorders

China Is Genetically Engineering Monkeys With Brain Disorders

Genome ‘Writers’ Set Their First Goal

Genome ‘Writers’ Set Their First Goal

Why CRISPR-Edited Food May Be in Supermarkets Sooner Than You Think

Why CRISPR-Edited Food May Be in Supermarkets Sooner Than You Think

Bioethics in Action

Bioethics in Action

You May Already Be Immune to CRISPR

You May Already Be Immune to CRISPR

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