Summit on Human Genome Editing Slated for Early March

The Summit Takes Place at the Francis Crick Institute in London

DNAPhoto byWarren Umoh via Unsplash

The upcoming event will continue the global dialogue on somatic and germline human genome editing.

Up for discussion are genome editing tools such as CRISPR/Cas9 and other developments in clinical trials.

The conversation will center on social, ethical, and accessibility considerations around scientific developments. Two previous Summit events were held in Washington, DC, in 2015 and in Hong Kong in 2018.

This event is being organized by the Royal Society, the US National Academies of Sciences and Medicine, The World Academy of Sciences, and the UK Academy of Medical Sciences. The Summit will be held over three days.

Genome editing involves making specific changes to the DNA of a cell or organism. The method can add or remove or alter DNA in the genome.

The development of editing technologies so far can be applied to somatic cells, which are non-heritable germline cells for reproduction and non-reproduction. Somatic human genome editing is currently used in vivo to address HIV and sickle-cell disease.

A series of online events took place last year leading up to this event. Entitled, Looking Ahead to the Third Human Genome Editing Summit looked at scientific developments, equity and access, and governance of human genome editing.

Stay tuned for more information about the Summit agenda. Additional information will be released soon from the event organizers, including how to register for this event.

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