| 总结: | Genome editing is a set of techniques in molecular biology that allow faster, more accurate modification of DNA. Genome editing tools allow scientists to make directed changes to the genes of any living organism, including plants, animals and humans. If applied as part of in vitro fertilization procedures in humans, it has the potential to create genetic changes that not only affect future children but can potentially be passed on to future generations as well. Once considered science fiction, this type of experiment was attempted in 2018 by Chinese scientist He Jiankui. COVID-19 has exposed how a range of existing structural inequalities from racial discrimination to poverty affect not only how people are affected by disease but also the extent to which they can benefit (or not) from scientific and technological responses to disease. Both the design and distribution of technologies have ethical and political consequences. This chapter reflects on how this politics of technology, which have been so brutally exposed by COVID-19, can inform how we discuss and govern inheritable human genome editing if it becomes available in future societies and offers some thoughts on what a fair and responsible application of genome editing might look like.
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