/sci/ - Science & Math

https://archive.is/9oZl1
However, there are some potential workarounds.
> There are newer variations on CRISPR-Cas9 editing that do not break both strands of the DNA helix. Base editing, for example, can convert one single DNA letter to another, and a technique called prime editing allows researchers to insert DNA sequences more predictably than CRISPR-Cas9 editing. Neither of these methods cause double-strand breaks, but they have not been as thoroughly studied and optimized as CRISPR-Cas9. At the summit, developmental biologist Yuyu Niu at the Kunming University of Science and Technology in China reported that one kind of base editor did not cause off-target DNA mutations in rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) embryos, but it did cause unwanted RNA mutations.
> An alternative to editing embryos would be to instead edit gametes, such as eggs and sperm, or the stem cells that give rise to them. This would also sidestep concerns that efforts to edit embryos might not succeed in all cells of the embryo, resulting in offspring that contain a mixture of edited and unedited cells. Several researchers at the summit reported progress towards generating gametes in the laboratory, but doing this with human cells destined for reproductive uses still poses challenges.
> The summit organizers urged that researchers continue to explore each of these options, even as policy makers and the public grapple with what restrictions should be placed on heritable genome editing.. “We are still keen that the research goes ahead,” said developmental biologist Robin Lovell-Badge of the Francis Crick Institute in London, who chaired the organizing committee for the summit. “In parallel, there has to be more debate about whether the technique is ever used.”