Report of Genetically Engineered Twin Babies Elicits Serious Ethical Questions

Updated December 14, 2018 This content is archived.

Richard M. Gronostajski, PhD, professor of biochemistry and director of the Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics graduate program, addresses ethical issues raised after a Chinese scientist claimed that he altered and edited the genes of twin baby girls to make them immune to the HIV virus using the new gene-altering tool CRISPR. “CRISPR has been revolutionary — it's been powerful,” he said. “It was anticipated that someone would eventually want to edit human beings. It’s a wake-up call.”