Human Embryo Editing, the Kazakhstan Coincidence

July 28, 2017
Last week we heard that for the first time in the U.S. a human embryo was genetically edited. The event happened in Oregon. The lead scientist is Shoukhrat Mitalipov.

Most of the action in FOXP5, the novel I wrote with my undergraduate roommate, David Deamer, takes place in Kazakhstan. Dr. Mitalipov was born in Kazakhstan in 1961. Like the principle scientist in the novel, Mitalipov is a leading figure in manipulating stem cells, eggs, and embryos. Unlike that scientist, he is an ethical man.
Fortunately, life doesn't always imitate art.