The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race

by Walter Isaacson

Baltimore warned of a development that made this Napa meeting different from the Asilomar one forty years earlier. “The big difference today is the creation of the biotechnology industry,” he told the group. “In 1975, there were no big biotechnology companies. Today, the public is concerned about commercial development, because there’s less oversight.” If the participants wanted to prevent a popular backlash against gene editing, he said, they would have to convince people to trust not only white-coated scientists but also commercially driven corporations. That could be a tough sell. Alta Charo, a bioethicist at the University of Wisconsin Law School, pointed out that the close relationship between academic researchers and commercial companies could taint the credibility of the academics. “Financial interests undermine the ‘white coat’ image of scientists today,” she said.