Researching the future: scenarios to explore the future of human genome editing

BACKGROUND

Forward-looking, democratically oriented governance is needed to ensure that human genome editing serves rather than undercuts public values. Scientific, policy, and ethics communities have recognized this necessity but have demonstrated limited understanding of how to fulfill it. The field of bioethics has long attempted to grapple with the unintended consequences of emerging technologies, but too often such foresight has lacked adequate scientific grounding, overemphasized regulation to the exclusion of examining underlying values, and failed to adequately engage the public.

METHODS

This research investigates the application of scenario planning, a tool developed in the high-stakes, uncertainty-ridden world of corporate strategy, for the equally high-stakes and uncertain world of the governance of emerging technologies. The scenario planning methodology is non-predictive, looking instead at a spread of plausible futures which diverge in their implications for different communities' needs, cares, and desires.

RESULTS

In this article we share how the scenario development process can further understandings of the complex and dynamic systems which generate and shape new biomedical technologies and provide opportunities to re-examine and re-think questions of governance, ethics and values. We detail the results of a year-long scenario planning study that engaged experts from the biological sciences, bioethics, social sciences, law, policy, private industry, and civic organizations to articulate alternative futures of human genome editing.

CONCLUSIONS

Through sharing and critiquing our methodological approach and results of this study, we advance understandings of anticipatory methods deployed in bioethics, demonstrating how this approach provides unique insights and helps to derive better research questions and policy strategies.

Toward Anticipatory Governance of Human Genome Editing: A Critical Review of Scholarly Governance Discourse

The rapid development of human genome editing (HGE) techniques evokes an urgent need for forward-looking deliberation regarding the aims, processes, and governance of research. The framework of anticipatory governance (AG) may serve this need. This article reviews scholarly discourse about HGE through an AG lens, aiming to identify gaps in discussion and practice and suggest how AG efforts may fill them. Discourse on HGE has insufficiently reckoned with the institutional and systemic contexts, inputs, and implications of HGE work, to the detriment of its ability to prepare for a variety of possible futures and pursue socially desirable ones. More broadly framed and inclusive efforts in foresight and public engagement, focused not only upon the in-principle permissibility of HGE activities but upon the contexts of such work, may permit improved identification of public values relevant to HGE and of actions by which researchers, funders, policymakers, and publics may promote them.

Prioritizing Women's Health in Germline Editing Research

Although women are inextricably involved in the study of germline editing, their interests have not been significantly represented in debates about the evolution of genome editing technology. Discussions have taken place about effects of germline editing on women as parents and members of families, but key discussions about women's health and well-being as patients and subjects are lacking. This neglect is due in part to restrictions on uterine transfer of modified human embryos, a boundary that has now been crossed. As a result, only scant discussion has taken place about safeguards needed to ensure that women who participate in germline modification research are not exposed to disproportionate risk in exchange for benefits they might expect for future offspring. This omission sets the stage for serious ethical implications for women and their families.

Focus on People and the Science Will Follow: Motivating Forces for Professional Movement in Stem Cell Research

The migration of researchers across geographic borders, or "brain drain" as it is commonly called, remains an important issue for governments around the world as loss or gain of highly qualified personnel in research can have substantial social, economic and political consequences. In the present study we seek to examine the forces that drive international professional migration of stem cell (SC) researchers, for which variation of SC policy in different jurisdictions has previously been implicated as a driving force. Structured interviews were carried out with a purposive sample of SC researchers in the professoriate who had made international moves after postdoctoral work between the years 2001-2014, or were actively anticipating a future move. Participants were asked to rank motivators of international movement on a 5-point Likert scale and prompted to elaborate on their answers. The results suggest that career considerations, availability of research funding, and personal considerations are of high importance to the participants when considering an international move, while the permissiveness or restrictiveness SC research policy is of comparably lower importance. Participants also expressed that international movements are beneficial to scientific careers overall. The findings have important implications for policy and strategies to attract and retain members of the SC research community.

High titer ethanol production from simultaneous enzymatic saccharification and fermentation of aspen at high solids: a comparison between SPORL and dilute acid pretreatments

Native aspen (Populus tremuloides) was pretreated using sulfuric acid and sodium bisulfite (SPORL) and dilute sulfuric acid alone (DA). Simultaneous enzymatic saccharification and fermentation (SSF) was conducted at 18% solids using commercial enzymes with cellulase loadings ranging from 6 to 15 FPU/g glucan and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y5. Compared with DA pretreatment, the SPORL pretreatment reduced the energy required for wood chip size-reduction, and reduced mixing energy of the resultant substrate for solid liquefaction. Approximately 60% more ethanol was produced from the solid SPORL substrate (211 L/ton wood at 59 g/L with SSF efficiency of 76%) than from the solid DA substrate (133 L/ton wood at 35 g/L with SSF efficiency 47%) at a cellulase loading of 10 FPU/g glucan after 120 h. When the cellulase loading was increased to 15 FPU/g glucan on the DA substrate, the ethanol yield still remained lower than the SPORL substrate at 10 FPU/g glucan.

Ethics report on interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer research

This report considers whether research involving the creation of human-animal interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer (iSCNT) embryos raises new ethical issues, and if so, whether it requires additional or special criteria and oversight distinct from research on human-animal chimeras.

Rheology of dilute acid hydrolyzed corn stover at high solids concentration

The rheological properties of acid hydrolyzed corn stover at high solids concentration (20-35 wt.%) were investigated using torque rheometry. These materials are yield stress fluids whose rheological properties can be well represented by the Bingham model. Yield stresses increase with increasing solids concentration and decrease with increasing hydrolysis reaction temperature, acid concentration, and rheometer temperature. Plastic viscosities increase with increasing solids concentration and tend to decrease with increasing reaction temperature and acid concentration. The solids concentration dependence of the yield stress is consistent with that reported for other fibrous systems. The changes in yield stress with reaction conditions are consistent with observed changes in particle size. This study illustrates that torque rheometry can be used effectively to measure rheological properties of concentrated biomass.

Cavitation in ciliary body melanoma

PURPOSE

To report a case of a cystic ciliary body melanoma that appeared clinically as a solid mass.

METHODS

A 59-year-old woman underwent an iridocyclectomy for removal of a ciliary body melanoma in the right eye. The tumor was analyzed histopathologically for acid mucopolysaccharide production.

RESULTS

Histopathology identified a ciliary body melanoma with cystic cavities. Contents of the cystic spaces did not stain with alcian blue. Histologic findings suggested exudation, cavitary necrosis, or both rather than acid mucopolysaccharide production as pathogenic factors for cyst formation.

CONCLUSION

Cystic cavities can develop in a solid, malignant tumor and therefore should not be considered signs of a benign lesion.

Evaluation of a DNA probe assay (Gen-Probe PACE 2) as the test of cure for Neisseria gonorrhoeae genital infections

A DNA probe (Gen-Probe PACE 2) detects portions of viable and nonviable organisms, and test results could remain positive after effective treatment of genital Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection. Twenty patients underwent test-of-cure studies 6 to 11 days after standard treatment for gonorrhea; in each case the DNA probe finding was negative. The Gen-Probe PACE 2 probe is reliable for test-of-cure study as early as 6 days after treatment.