Panel suggests guidelines for use of gene-editing tools

Washington

THE 1997 film Gattaca predicted a near future in which cities are powered by vast solar thermal arrays, people launch manned missions to Saturn's moons, and doctors design super smart and strong babies. A generation later, it is the gene editing that is proving most prescient.

Over the past decade, huge advances in gene-editing techniques have enabled researchers to slice up and rewrite DNA with incredible precision. At the forefront of the ensuing revolution is the CRISPR-Cas9, a technology derived from bacteria that enables scientists to snip and repair DNA, nucleotide by nucleotide, quickly and cheaply. The potential uses are vast. And so are the ethical quandaries.