Babbage: The hopes and fears of human genome editing

<p>The Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing was held this week in London. It was the first such meeting since 2018, when a Chinese researcher announced that he had created the <a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2018/12/01/a-maverick-researcher-claims-to-have-created-gm-children?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=babbage&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">world’s first genetically edited babies</a>—a move that was roundly condemned at the time. Host Alok Jha and Natasha Loder, <em>The Economist</em>’s health editor, report from the conference to explore the exciting future—and knotty challenges—of the world that gene-editing therapies could create.</p><br><p>Robin Lovell-Badge, a leading scientist at the Francis Crick Institute in London and the organiser of the summit, explains how genome-editing technology has rapidly advanced in recent years. Claire Booth, a professor of gene therapy and paediatric immunology at Great Ormond Street Hospital and University College London discusses the hopes of gene-editing treatments. Plus, Kelly Ormond, a bioethicist from ETH-Zurich, explores the ethical dilemmas that are raised by the technology, and Filippa Lentzos of King’s College London, explains why human genome editing presents potential biosecurity risks.</p><br><p>Listen to previous episodes of “Babbage” on the topic: the <a href="https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2022/10/11/a-new-era-of-gene-therapies?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=babbage&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">gene therapy revolution</a> and <a href="https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2022/04/26/how-crispr-cas9-gene-editing-is-transforming-healthcare-and-agriculture-a-decade-after-its-discovery?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;