Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland on Wednesday that they had successfully altered a human embryo's genome to correct a mutation associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy -- the first time that such a procedure has been carried out in the U.S.
The embryo was not implanted and the researchers (who also included scientists from Korea and China) that they had no intention of creating a pregnancy at this stage.
But that is the end goal for research on the gene-editing technology known as CRISPR, which holds substantial promise for ending genetic diseases but also as a tool for broader-reaching manipulations of human biology that many regard as unethical and even dangerous.