TY - JOUR
T1 - From Precaution to Peril
T2 - Public Relations Across Forty Years of Genetic Engineering
AU - Hogan, Andrew J.
PY - 2016/12/1
Y1 - 2016/12/1
N2 - The Asilomar conference on genetic engineering in 1975 has long been pointed to by scientists as a model for internal regulation and public engagement. In 2015, the organizers of the International Summit on Human Gene Editing in Washington, DC looked to Asilomar as they sought to address the implications of the new CRISPR gene editing technique. Like at Asilomar, the conveners chose to limit the discussion to a narrow set of potential CRISPR applications, involving inheritable human genome editing. The adoption by scientists in 2015 of an Asilomar-like script for discussing genetic engineering offers historians the opportunity to analyze the adjustments that have been made since 1975, and to identify the blind spots that remain in public engagement. Scientists did take important lessons from the fallout of their limited engagement with public concerns at Asilomar. Nonetheless, the scientific community has continued to overlook some of the longstanding public concerns about genetic engineering, in particular the broad and often covert genetic modification of food products.
AB - The Asilomar conference on genetic engineering in 1975 has long been pointed to by scientists as a model for internal regulation and public engagement. In 2015, the organizers of the International Summit on Human Gene Editing in Washington, DC looked to Asilomar as they sought to address the implications of the new CRISPR gene editing technique. Like at Asilomar, the conveners chose to limit the discussion to a narrow set of potential CRISPR applications, involving inheritable human genome editing. The adoption by scientists in 2015 of an Asilomar-like script for discussing genetic engineering offers historians the opportunity to analyze the adjustments that have been made since 1975, and to identify the blind spots that remain in public engagement. Scientists did take important lessons from the fallout of their limited engagement with public concerns at Asilomar. Nonetheless, the scientific community has continued to overlook some of the longstanding public concerns about genetic engineering, in particular the broad and often covert genetic modification of food products.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.endeavour.2016.09.002
DO - 10.1016/j.endeavour.2016.09.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 27720215
AN - SCOPUS:85002410293
VL - 40
SP - 218
EP - 222
JO - Endeavour
JF - Endeavour
SN - 0160-9327
IS - 4
ER -