Eugenics has a terrible history. But if we now have the power to alleviate suffering using gene editing, when does the ethical pendulum swing towards inaction being more immoral than action? Samuel Mckee argues we need to rethink where we draw the line. Advancements like CRISPR-Cas9 have made gene editing cheap, accessible and accurate. It is time to put the technology to use. Doing so could have revolutionary consequences for personalised medicine, well-being, and even consequences for human space exploration. Eugenics – the controlled selective breeding of human populations to improve their genetic composition – is regarded as one of the dirtiest words of the twentieth century. Forever tied to the genocides and forced sterilizations of Nazi Germany, it has been taboo to use the word in genetics gatherings, seen as the worst of its past as a scientific discipline. If you want to tarnish someone…
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