The literal and figurative fruits of CRISPR’s labor – that is, enhanced produce and new fishery and ranching products – appear to be the first and most rapidly available practical applications of the technique and other genetic modification procedures. These gene-editing capabilities are also moving into human healthcare. The research into humans is, however, more deliberate and painstaking.
So far, CRISPR has been used to cure several diseases in mice, which suggests the technique can eventually be used in humans. However, the nature of the use of such gene therapy can be quite controversial in humans, if such genetic modifications would be passed down to future generations, so-called “germ-line modification.” Ethicists are worried that such research could lead to a permanent change in the makeup of the human species, with unintended consequences and profound ethical questions.