62 / SEEDWORLD.COM JANUARY 2018 THE U.S. SENATE Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions met on Tuesday, November 14 to discuss gene editing technology — in particular, the inno- vations and impacts of CRISPR and the implications that could arise from it. Senators from both parties gathered to question witnesses from Stanford University, Editas Medicine, and Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics about the ethical concerns and the possible regulations that accompany the scientific breakthroughs of CRISPR. Leading the discussion was Lamar Alexander, the Republican senator from Tennessee. In his opening statement, Alexander presented the history of CRISPR and the potential behind it, including the potential to treat devastating diseases. CRISPR was developed in 1993, but it only recently became useful to treat humans in 2013. Alexander notes that CRISPR has been widely used in agriculture to modify toma- toes and soybeans with higher yields or have the potential to live through droughts. He continues by diving into the ethical issues of CRISPR, such as the possibility of creating “designer babies,” by editing out the unwanted and undesirable genes. “CRISPR is just one of the amazing discoveries that has come from basic research funded in part by the federal government,” Alexander says. “Today’s hearing is truly a hearing. I intend to do more listening than talking.” Following Sen. Alexander’s opening statement, Sen. Patty Murray, the Democratic representative from Washington, opened by asserting that gene editing technology has the potential to tackle serious gene-based diseases, such as Sickle Cell and Huntington’s Disease, as well as potentially prevent viruses such as the Zika virus. “I’m sure there are ways CRISPR technologies can help patients and families that we haven’t even begun to think of yet,” she says. “I am glad that bipartisan work on this committee has enabled us to enact policies and 21st century cures and the FDA user fee authorization that will help spur innovation.” The hearing had three witnesses: Matthew Porteus, an associate professor of pedi- atrics from Stanford University; Katrine Bosley, chief executive officer and president of Editas Medicine; and Jeffrey Kahn, director of Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. In their opening statements, the three explained the general science behind CRISPR, as well as how the FDA overseas clinical trials for CRISPR breakthroughs and the ethical concerns that the international community has expressed. ETHICAL CONCERNS andCRISPR POTENTIAL The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions gathered in November to discuss the potential and implications of pursuing further use of the genome editing technology CRISPR. Alex Martin amartin@issuesink.com