816 - Book Club: The Promise and Peril of CRISPR

Public Health On Call

About this episode:

CRISPR technology can edit genetic codes, making it possible to cure people of terrible diseases, among other uses. But its power is not fully understood—even by the scientists and researchers who use it—and the technology far outpaces conversations about ethics and regulations. In this episode: that we know and don’t know about CRISPR, and why it’s critical for these conversations to happen everywhere from boardrooms to legislative assemblies to film and TV scripts.

Guest:

Dr. Neil Baer is a lecturer in global health and social medicine at Harvard Medical School, an award-winning television writer and producer, and editor of a new book: The Promise and Peril of CRISPR.

Host:

Dr. Josh Sharfstein is vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a faculty member in health policy, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland’s Health Department.

Show links and related content:

• ‘Who are we to say they shouldn’t exist?’: Dr. Neal Baer on the threat of CRISPR-driven eugenics—Live Science

• His baby gene editing shocked ethicists. Now he’s in the lab again—NPR

• Seven diseases CRISPR technology could cure—Labiotech

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