WHO details steps to ensure gene editing is safe, ethical

Geneva: The World Health Organisation published a slew of recommendations on Monday on how to ensure gene editing research is used for the public good and does not get out of hand.

“As global research delves deeper into the human genome, we must minimise risks and leverage ways that science can drive better health for everyone, everywhere,” the WHO’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said in a statement.

Gene editing has been revolutionised by the development of tools like CRISPR-Cas-9, which won its co-creators the Nobel Chemistry Prize last year and which can change the DNA of animals, plants and micro-organisms with extreme precision.

Such developments carry huge potential benefits for diagnoses, treatment and the prevention of genetic disorders, but have also opened a Pandora’s Box to possibly unsafe and unethical uses.

The WHO commissioned an expert group to study the implications of human gene editing back in 2018 after a Chinese scientist controversially claimed to have created the world’s first genetically-edited babies.