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102 B.U. L. Rev. Online 1 (2022)

handle is hein.journals/bulron102 and id is 1 raw text is: REWRITING NATURE: THE CASE OF HERITABLE HUMAN GENOME EDITINGT DANA CARROLL* Genome editing is a powerful technology that allows the modification of individual DNA sequences in essentially any organism. The advent of Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) has simplified the procedures of genome editing, extending its range in research, medicine, and agriculture. While scientists are busy modifying genomes, discussions of how societies can find a path to derive the benefits of the technology and avoid its misuses are welcome and timely. In Rewriting Nature, Dr. Paul Enriquez draws on his training in both biochemistry and the law.' As a partial solution to the existing gap, he advocates for a jurisprudence of scientific empiricism, envisioning that incorporating reliable scientific evidence into deliberations in the legal and regulatory spheres will allow adoption of sensible uses of genome editing technologies while avoiding capitulation to extreme advocates or extreme detractors.2 There is at least one positive sign that the legal profession is aiming to grasp the basics of genome editing. In February of 2021, I participated in a workshop on Emerging Areas of Science, Engineering, and Medicine for the Courts in preparation for revision of the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, a document meant to assist judges in cases involving complex technical issues.3 I discussed genome editing in this context, and I think there is reason to expect that the technology will be included in the next edition of the reference manual. In the early part of his book, Dr. Enriquez compares the genome editing revolution to the equally paradigm-disrupting development of molecular cloning t This Essay was submitted as part of the Boston University Law Review Online's November 2022 symposium on Rewriting Nature by Dr. Paul Enriquez. Online Editors Erin Beaton and Kaitlin Ostling organized the symposium, and Professors Christopher Robertson and Kevin Outterson moderated. * Distinguished Professor Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine. I See PAUL ENRiQUEZ, REWRITING NATURE: THE FUTURE OF GENOME EDITING AND HOw TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN LAW AND SCIENCE (2021). 2 Id. at 10-15. 3 See NAT'L ACADS. OF SCIS., ENG'G & MED., EMERGING AREAS OF SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICINE FOR THE COURTS: PROCEEDINGS OF A WORKSHOP (2021), https://doi.org/10.17226/26231 (panel on Emerging Issues in the Biological Sciences); see also NAT'L RSCH. COUNCIL, REFERENCE MANUAL ON SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE (3d ed. 2011). 1

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