"In the paper, researchers led by Junjiu Huang, a gene-function researcher at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, tried to head off such concerns by using 'non-viable' embryos, which cannot result in a live birth, that were obtained from local fertility clinics. The team attempted to modify the gene responsible for β-thalassaemia, a potentially fatal blood disorder, using a gene-editing technique known as CRISPR/Cas9. The researchers say that their results reveal serious obstacles to using the method in medical applications."
http://www.nature.com/news/chinese-scientists-genetically-modify-human-embryos-1.17378?WT.mc_id=FBK_NatureNews
this is really huge. It's this big line of intentionality that we're crossing. And it's making me think about a lot of things - not just the ethical questions, but the cultural question of what science we are able to do in different societies. The fact that the highest-impact journals are firmly in Western culture, what does that mean about cultrual control of science?
And I am also realizing how much I am already putting this on 'China', how the nationality of the scientists was placed in the headline, how there is already distancing language here so that we don't have to feel complicit if we're willing to be a little racist.
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