The part of CRISPR that keeps scientists up at night

Jennifer Doudna, biochemist and CRISPR co-inventor, walks through the technology’s biggest ethical flashpoints: the 2018 announcement of the first gene-edited babies, the use of gene drives to spread edited traits through wild populations like mosquitoes, and the growing (if overhyped) push to revive extinct species like the dire wolf. Doudna explains why she still feels a personal sense of responsibility for how CRISPR gets used, why the biotech field had a head start on safety compared to AI, and why the real question isn’t whether the technology works — it’s whether we’re moving at the right pace.

This video is featured on Big Think.