Cut, Paste, Delete: The Ethics of Gene Editing and Humanity's Hereditary Future
Presented by the CU Center for Bioethics & Humanities and the Institute for Science & Policy
Wednesday, May 5 at 7 p.m. Mountain Time
Watch the full recording

The revolutionary gene editing technology known as CRISPR, which uses a microbial immune response to selectively snip DNA in living organisms, has taken science by storm in recent years. Researchers are already exploring the technology's broad applications for modifying and enhancing food, fuel, therapeutics, cancer treatments, and more. In 2020, CRISPR pioneers Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry just eight short years after their initial landmark paper in the journal Science. It is no understatement to say that CRISPR has quickly unlocked a new world of biomedical possibilities.

Gene editing's newfound ease and speed, however, also raises a host of ethical uncertainties. Should the technology be applied to human embryos, even to screen out deadly mutations? Would CRISPR only be available to the privileged, exacerbating societal inequities? Will there be strong regulatory and legal frameworks to govern its safe and responsible use? The question of how far this manmade evolutionary tool can - and should - go is one of today's most pressing bioethical dilemmas.

We hope you'll join us on Wednesday, May 5 at 7 p.m. Mountain time for a conversation about the moral questions and ethical perils of gene editing. John Daley, health reporter at Colorado Public Radio, will moderate a discussion with our panel of expert guests, including:

• Rosario Isasi, Research Associate Professor of Human Genetics, Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami

• Michael Zaretsky, Director, Colorado Fetal Care Center and Maternal Fetal Care Unit, Children's Hospital Colorado

Audience members are invited to submit questions for the panelists upon registering. This free public webinar is presented by the Center for Bioethics & Humanities at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and the Institute for Science & Policy. The event will also be livestreamed via Facebook and YouTube.