CRISPR in Context: Lessons for Genome Editing from the History of Controversial Biotechnologies

• In Event: Innovation, Biocapital and the Making of Post-Genomic Medicine - II

Abstract

Widespread use of CRISPR-Cas-9 has prompted calls for greater public engagement with genome editing, long before the birth of genetically edited twins in China, with the assumption that this will help pre-empt or avoid public opposition to such technologies. This concern is understandable, given the history of controversial biotechnologies. But why are so many biotechnologies controversial, and what does this mean for the way we manage the concerns they generate? The ‘hybrid’ mixing of natural and human-directed processes in the objects produced by biotechnology can make them appear unsettling, even monstrous. Recognising this, future oversight of technologies like genome editing needs to acknowledge that physical harm to people or property is not the only concern that needs to be managed. Instead, we require a greater understanding of how intrinsic diochotomies are enabled by the technologies themselves, leading to inseparable qualities of fascination and fear. In this paper, we use Mary Douglas' work on 'matter out of place' and Martijnte Smits' monster theory to consider how the long-entwined history of recombinant DNA and in-vitro fertilization could be used to better inform discussions of the responsible development of CRISPR-related technologies in human beings.

Authors

• Stevienna de Saille, University of Sheffield

• Michael Morrison, HeLEX, University of Oxford