Hi Quartz members!
Genetic engineering finally gets its PC
This week’s field guide is a close look at Crispr, a gene-editing technology poised to upend medicine, agriculture, and pretty much the world as we know it.
Gene editing is not new—the first genetically engineered organism was created more than 40 years ago—but the process to change genetic code has, until fairly recently, cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and taken weeks to accomplish. Just as the personal computer democratized programming, Crispr has made gene editing cheaper, faster, and more accessible.
The potential for Crispr and other modern genetic-engineering technologies is obviously vast. We could find new ways to treat cancer and other diseases, improve crops to produce better yields or resist pests. But there are real concerns as well. Genetic engineering’s power is so massive, it’s not clear we even fully understand what we’re dealing with. Should we engineer our future children? What happens when a genetic change is designed to persist through generations? If technologies like Crispr are so easy and affordable, can someone use it for ill instead of good?
The promise and peril Crispr offers is what we’ll be looking at this week. It’s a fascinating topic with world-changing implications, and groups of scientists in the public and private sectors are racing to discover what is possible. We begin with our state of play memo, which sets the stage for this revolution in biology. We also have a roster, which includes the most important people in this burgeoning field, so you can get to know the names behind the breakthroughs.
We’ll have a lot more to share over the course of the week, including:
- The epic patent battle surrounding Crispr
- A talk with John Cumbers, a former Nasa scientist who now runs the world’s leading synthetic biology conference
- How the issue of designer babies predates Crispr
- How Crispr could cure your hangover
- And charts, infographics, and video to help you understand this fast-changing world
I hope you enjoy this week’s exploration.
Let’s keep learning. Send questions, comments, and science-fiction ideas to members@qz.com.
Have a rewarding day,
Sam Grobart
membership editor