Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Correspondence
  • Published:

Query the merits of embryo editing for reproductive research now

Nature Biotechnology volume 35, pages 1023–1025 (2017)Cite this article

Subjects

To the Editor:

Recently, a team from the United States used CRISPR–Cas9 on viable human embryos to correct a gene mutation that causes hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a heritable heart condition in which the ventricle walls thicken to hinder proper blood flow1. For many, this announcement brings closer to reality the prospect of editing disease-associated mutations in fertility clinic embryos intended for reproductive use. The study certainly raises many scientific uncertainties and questions. But we contend that it also brings to light some questionable value assumptions that have largely flown under the radar in the social discourse around embryo editing. Here, we call attention to some of these assumptions and suggest that additional human embryo editing research may not be adequately justified until these issues have at least been openly acknowledged and debated. To be clear, our discussion is meant to apply only to 'preclinical' embryo editing research: that is, to corrective nuclear genome editing research performed in vitro with an eye toward eventual reproductive use under favorable regulatory circumstances. Our points do not necessarily apply to human embryonic genome editing studies for fundamental research aimed at silencing genes to understand their function in early development.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Ma, H. et al. Nature 548, 413–419 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. National Academy of Sciences. Human Genome Editing: Science, Ethics, and Governance (National Academies Press, Washington, DC, USA, 2017).

  3. International Society for Stem Cell Research. Guidelines for Stem Cell Science and Clinical Translation http://www.isscr.org/guidelines2016 (ISSCR, 2016).

  4. Scheufele, D.A. et al. Science 357, 553–554 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Raspberry, K.A. & Skinner, D. Soc. Sci. Med. 72, 992–998 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Greil, A., McQuillan, J. & Slauson-Blevins, K. Sociol. Compass 5, 736–746 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Cyranoski, D. Nature 548, 272–274 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Harris, L.H. & Wolfe, T. Curr. Opin. Obstet. Gynecol. 26, 539–544 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Roberts, D. Dissent 62, 79–82 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    Insoo Hyun

  2. Department of Anthropology and Dittrick Medical History Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    Catherine Osborn

Authors
  1. Insoo Hyun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Catherine Osborn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Insoo Hyun.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hyun, I., Osborn, C. Query the merits of embryo editing for reproductive research now. Nat Biotechnol 35, 1023–1025 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.4000

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.4000

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Translational Research

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Translational Research newsletter — top stories in biotechnology, drug discovery and pharma.

Get what matters in translational research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Translational Research