Ethical issues in gene editing need to be discussed now , despite the relatively distant progress in the field , the Nuffield Council for Bioethics says . Following the announcement of CRISPR , a biological system for editing DNA , the council says that discussing the technology is “ desirable ” to help promote the idea publicly . The genome is the entire sequence of DNA or an organism. There are concerns that CRISPR could have unintentional consequences when used on humans , and that it could lead to “ designer babies ” . However , the technology could prevent inherited genetic diseases and increase food production rates , leading the council to take legislative action to ensure children are not left out of the development process .
Ethical issues in gene editing need to be discussed now , despite the relatively distant progress in the field , the Nuffield Council for Bioethics says . Following the announcement of CRISPR , a biological system for editing DNA , the council says that discussing the technology is “ desirable ” to help promote the idea publicly . There are concerns that CRISPR could have unintentional consequences when used on humans , and that it could lead to “ designer babies ” . However , the technology could prevent inherited genetic diseases and increase food production rates , leading the council to take legislative action to ensure children are not left out of the development process .