March 16, 2016
Setting the record straight to relieve concerns about DIY laboratories using CRISPR technology, a group of folks familiar with the inner-workings of such labs, provide their opinions, compiled by Patrick Skerrett for STAT news. The contributors point out that there are codes of conduct in place, that the materials used are pretty benign, there is transparency and that, frankly, doomsday scenarios could happen at any lab. However, they also note that while there are interesting and useful projects arising from DIY labs, care must, nonetheless, be taken. Yet safety is a concern at any lab, they say, with most requiring improvement and follow-through with regard to implemented protocols. At the end of the day, the message here seems to be that DIY labs are no worse, and are arguably less worrisome, than more regulated or seemingly controlled entities.