NCER vehemently supports transparency in medical research as it is foundational in the ability of patients to make autonomous decisions to participate in receiving medications or treatments. Last year, in an unprecedented move, Pfizer requested the release by the FDA of their safety data from research on their COVID-19 mRNA vaccine be extensively delayed with […]
CRISPR Causes Mutations that are Passed on to Offspring
It is 2022, and even with the explosion of medical research over the last decade using CRISPR gene editing, the unwanted and off-target mutations caused by the game-changing tool have not been controlled. Furthermore, studies consistently find that these mutations are directly inherited by any offspring produced. Indeed, CRISPR has facilitated great strides in curing […]
IVG: Making Babies from Skin Cells
In Vitro Gametogenesis (IVG) involves creating human embryos without the use of eggs or sperm…from adult skin cells. When combined with gene editing (sometimes using DNA from an outside party), this technique will produce and grow “designer babies”, paving the way for any individual to become a parent. IVG has already produced successful outcomes, and […]
Gene Edited Pig Heart Successfully Transplanted
In a ground-breaking first, researchers and surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center have successfully transplanted a gene-edited pig heart into a dying man. For the heart to not be rejected once transplanted, 10 separate genes were deleted or added using CRISPR, earning the donor animal the nickname of a “10 gene pig”. Over […]