But the declaration, along with a high-profile commentary in the Wall Street Journal on April 9 from David Baltimore and Paul Berg, two veterans of the 1970s debates on genetic engineering, has already altered the social context in which new developments in the field will be received. Any scientist or organization that crosses the ethical Rubicon by conducting human germline engineering experiments will now face a considerable level of opprobrium. “I doubt the unsanctioned use will happen soon,” says Nobel laureate Craig Mello of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, in Worcester, and a scientific founder of Basel-based CRISPR Therapeutics. “It's not something that's going to be easy, cost-effective or safe, given existing technology.”
The Napa event was by no means representative of all the main players in CRISPR-Cas9, however, which leaves its main organizer, the Innovative Genomics Initiative at the University of California, Berkeley, open to criticism that it is attempting to set the agenda without first building a broad front within the scientific community and beyond. “I do think it's a discussion the community should have—not just the West Coast community,” says Rodger Novak, CEO and co-founder CRISPR Therapeutics, whose scientific founder, Emmanuelle Charpentier, is, along with Berkeley's Jennifer Doudna, co-inventor of the technology. At the same time, there is no evidence of a rift opening up between those who attended and those who did not. “I don't feel slighted in any way,” says Mello. “Anything that raises awareness is important.”
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution