Human Gene Editing: The Issues Behind the Progress in Genetics

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A major component of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine’s Human Gene-Editing Initiative was the International Summit on Human Gene Editing that took place this past week. Co-hosted with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the U.K.’s Royal Society, the summit convened experts from around the world to discuss the scientific, ethical, and governance issues associated with human gene-editing research. The Summit Statement is available here, and the video and slides of the Summit will be permanently available at the summit website.

Below is a list of our titles that were either directly mentioned in presentations, or are related to this topic. All are free to download.

2008 Amendments to the National Academies’ Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research (2008)


ISBN 978-0-309-12220-7

In 2005, the National Academies released the report Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, which offered a common set of ethical standards for a field that, due to the absence of comprehensive federal funding, was lacking national …

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Potential Risks and Benefits of Gain-of-Function Research: Summary of a Workshop (2015)


ISBN 978-0-309-36783-7

On October 17, 2014, spurred by incidents at U.S. government laboratories that raised serious biosafety concerns, the United States government launched a one-year deliberative process to address the continuing controversy surrounding so-called …

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Biotechnology Research in an Age of Terrorism (2004)


ISBN 978-0-309-08977-7

In recent years much has happened to justify an examination of biological research in light of national security concerns. The destructive application of biotechnology research includes activities such as spreading common pathogens or …

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Globalization, Biosecurity, and the Future of the Life Sciences (2006)


ISBN 978-0-309-10032-8

Biomedical advances have made it possible to identify and manipulate features of living organisms in useful ways&#8212leading to improvements in public health, agriculture, and other areas. The globalization of scientific and technical expertise …

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Improving the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Genomic Science Translation: Workshop Summary (2014)


ISBN 978-0-309-29453-9

The process for translating basic science discoveries into clinical applications has historically involved a linear and lengthy progression from initial discovery to preclinical testing, regulatory evaluation and approval, and, finally, use in …

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Conflict of Interest and Medical Innovation: Ensuring Integrity While Facilitating Innovation in Medical Research: Workshop Summary (2014)


ISBN 978-0-309-30168-8

Scientific advances such as the sequencing of the human genome have created great promise for improving human health by providing a greater understanding of disease biology and enabling the development of new drugs, diagnostics, and preventive …

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A Survey of Attitudes and Actions on Dual Use Research in the Life Sciences: A Collaborative Effort of the National Research Council and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2009)


ISBN 978-0-309-12510-9

The same technologies that fuel scientific advances also pose potential risks–that the knowledge, tools, and techniques gained through legitimate biotechnology research could be misused to create biological weapons or for bioterrorism. This is …

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Challenges and Opportunities for Education About Dual Use Issues in the Life Sciences (2010)


ISBN 978-0-309-15840-4

The Challenges and Opportunities for Education About Dual Use Issues in the Life Sciences workshop was held to engage the life sciences community on the particular security issues related to research with dual use potential. More than 60 …

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Diplomacy for the 21st Century: Embedding a Culture of Science and Technology Throughout the Department of State (2015)


ISBN 978-0-309-37313-5

Diplomacy for the 21st Century recommends steps that the Department of State should embrace to take full advantage of the leading science and technology (S&T) capabilities of the United States. These capabilities provide the department …

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Public Engagement on Genetically Modified Organisms: When Science and Citizens Connect: A Workshop Summary (2015)


ISBN 978-0-309-37421-7

The National Research Council’s Roundtable on Public Interfaces of the Life Sciences held a 2-day workshop on January 15-16, 2015, in Washington, DC to explore the public interfaces between scientists and citizens in the context of genetically …

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Trust and Confidence at the Interfaces of the Life Sciences and Society: Does the Public Trust Science? A Workshop Summary (2015)


ISBN 978-0-309-37792-8

Does the public trust science? Scientists? Scientific organizations? What roles do trust and the lack of trust play in public debates about how science can be used to address such societal concerns as childhood vaccination, cancer screening, and …

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Improving Genetics Education in Graduate and Continuing Health Professional Education: Workshop Summary (2015)


ISBN 978-0-309-31605-7

Many health care providers do not have either the knowledge or the tools they need in order to apply genetic information in their day-to-day practices. This lack of support is contributing to a substantial delay in the translation of genetic …

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The Value of Genetic and Genomic Technologies: Workshop Summary (2010)


ISBN 978-0-309-15771-1

Knowing one’s genetic disposition to a variety of diseases, including common chronic diseases, can benefit both the individual and society at large. The IOM’s Roundtable on Translating Genomic-Based Research for Health held a workshop on March …

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Genomics-Enabled Learning Health Care Systems: Gathering and Using Genomic Information to Improve Patient Care and Research: Workshop Summary (2015)


ISBN 978-0-309-37112-4

The inclusion of genomic data in a knowledge-generating health care system infrastructure is one promising way to harness the full potential of that information to provide better patient care. In such a system, clinical practice and research …

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Assessing Genomic Sequencing Information for Health Care Decision Making: Workshop Summary (2014)


ISBN 978-0-309-30494-8

Rapid advances in technology have lowered the cost of sequencing an individual’s genome from the several billion dollars that it cost a decade ago to just a few thousand dollars today and have correspondingly greatly expanded the use of genomic …

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Integrating Large-Scale Genomic Information into Clinical Practice: Workshop Summary (2012)


ISBN 978-0-309-22034-7

The initial sequencing of the human genome, carried out by an international group of experts, took 13 years and $2.7 billion to complete. In the decade since that achievement, sequencing technology has evolved at such a rapid pace that today a …

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Assessing Genetic Risks: Implications for Health and Social Policy (1994)


ISBN 978-0-309-08660-8

Raising hopes for disease treatment and prevention, but also the specter of discrimination and “designer genes,” genetic testing is potentially one of the most socially explosive developments of our time. This book presents a current assessment of …

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Emerging and Readily Available Technologies and National Security: A Framework for Addressing Ethical, Legal, and Societal Issues (2014)


ISBN 978-0-309-29334-1

Emerging and Readily Available Technologies and National Security is a study on the ethical, legal, and societal issues relating to the research on, development of, and use of rapidly changing technologies with low barriers of entry that …

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