The unexpected and unanticipated announcement of the “world’s first” gene edited babies: breaching, repairing and strengthening community boundaries
The 2018 announcement that the world’s first babies had been born following gene editing was unexpected and unanticipated. In this article, we focus on the reaction to the announcement and explore how this revealed implicit and explicit assumptions about the role and responsibilities of scientists a...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2023-01-01
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| Series: | New Genetics and Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14636778.2022.2155124 |
| _version_ | 1797681267612844032 |
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| author | Rebecca Dimond Jamie Lewis Alice Sumner |
| author_facet | Rebecca Dimond Jamie Lewis Alice Sumner |
| author_sort | Rebecca Dimond |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The 2018 announcement that the world’s first babies had been born following gene editing was unexpected and unanticipated. In this article, we focus on the reaction to the announcement and explore how this revealed implicit and explicit assumptions about the role and responsibilities of scientists and scientific standards. Through analysis of media coverage and public commentary about the birth of the “world’s first,” we identify how the event was constructed as a breach of scientific norms. We begin by identifying the use of an “if true” narrative, which contributed to the meanings of the technology and the births following the initial announcement. We consider two dimensions to the concept of “breach,” as an individual act of transgression and as a rupture of community norms. Finally, we consider the work of the broader scientific community in repairing the damage and their attempts to strengthen its boundaries to prevent future transgressions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:41:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e3e9d56e9d1b4d7da06755050a5cb4a3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1463-6778 1469-9915 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:41:58Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | New Genetics and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-e3e9d56e9d1b4d7da06755050a5cb4a32023-09-19T15:22:19ZengTaylor & Francis GroupNew Genetics and Society1463-67781469-99152023-01-0142110.1080/14636778.2022.21551242155124The unexpected and unanticipated announcement of the “world’s first” gene edited babies: breaching, repairing and strengthening community boundariesRebecca Dimond0Jamie Lewis1Alice Sumner2Cardiff UniversityCardiff UniversityCardiff UniversityThe 2018 announcement that the world’s first babies had been born following gene editing was unexpected and unanticipated. In this article, we focus on the reaction to the announcement and explore how this revealed implicit and explicit assumptions about the role and responsibilities of scientists and scientific standards. Through analysis of media coverage and public commentary about the birth of the “world’s first,” we identify how the event was constructed as a breach of scientific norms. We begin by identifying the use of an “if true” narrative, which contributed to the meanings of the technology and the births following the initial announcement. We consider two dimensions to the concept of “breach,” as an individual act of transgression and as a rupture of community norms. Finally, we consider the work of the broader scientific community in repairing the damage and their attempts to strengthen its boundaries to prevent future transgressions.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14636778.2022.2155124gene editingscientific normsbreakthroughregimes of normativitygenome editingbreach |
| spellingShingle | Rebecca Dimond Jamie Lewis Alice Sumner The unexpected and unanticipated announcement of the “world’s first” gene edited babies: breaching, repairing and strengthening community boundaries New Genetics and Society gene editing scientific norms breakthrough regimes of normativity genome editing breach |
| title | The unexpected and unanticipated announcement of the “world’s first” gene edited babies: breaching, repairing and strengthening community boundaries |
| title_full | The unexpected and unanticipated announcement of the “world’s first” gene edited babies: breaching, repairing and strengthening community boundaries |
| title_fullStr | The unexpected and unanticipated announcement of the “world’s first” gene edited babies: breaching, repairing and strengthening community boundaries |
| title_full_unstemmed | The unexpected and unanticipated announcement of the “world’s first” gene edited babies: breaching, repairing and strengthening community boundaries |
| title_short | The unexpected and unanticipated announcement of the “world’s first” gene edited babies: breaching, repairing and strengthening community boundaries |
| title_sort | unexpected and unanticipated announcement of the world s first gene edited babies breaching repairing and strengthening community boundaries |
| topic | gene editing scientific norms breakthrough regimes of normativity genome editing breach |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14636778.2022.2155124 |
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