San Francisco Startup Raises $30M for Embryo Gene Editing Research

Published 12 hours ago·Updated 9 hours ago

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Above: Coinbase Founder and CEO Brian Armstrong attends Consensus 2019 in New York City on May 15, 2019. Image copyright: Steven Ferdman/Getty Images

The Spin

Narrative A

Gene-editing startups, if guided by rigorous ethics and transparency, deserve the chance to prove their promise. Used responsibly, CRISPR-based innovation could one day end countless hereditary diseases. The risks are well known, and researchers must weigh them at every step. With strict oversight, progress shouldn't be halted by fear.

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Narrative B

Gene editing isn't just medicine; it's part of the billionaire class's quest for immortality, among darker aims. From autocrats fantasizing about 150-year lives to venture capitalists pushing embryo edits, the path tilts toward eugenics, so-called population "optimization," and engineered heirs. When power bankrolls biology, it's about control, not cures.

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