Call For CRISPR Moratorium Echoes Early Days Of Gene Therapy

A group of influential scientists have urged that clinical use of CRISPR be put on hold in the wake of the Chinese gene-edited baby debacle. The call to suspend research on heritable germline DNA is reminiscent of the self-imposed moratorium when gene therapy first emerged in the 1970s. It is also a reminder that maintaining ethical standards is critical during the frothy times surrounding exciting novel medical technologies.