On 7 March 2018, the Royal Society hosted the conference The CRISPR revolution: changing life. The conference brought together scientists, technologists and experts from across academia, industry and government to discuss the rapid advances in genome editing and its potential impact on our society and humanity.
Presentations and discussions outlined the current state-of-the-art use of genome editing technologies, such as CRISPR-Cas9, to understand biological pathways; develop improved agricultural crops and farm animals; create cellular and animal models of disease; and develop new therapies.
Furthermore, the technical, regulatory and ethnical challenges associated with the wider adoption of this technology were discussed.
This conference is part of a series organised by the Royal Society entitled Breakthrough science and technologies: Transforming our future, which addresses the major scientific and technical challenges of the next decade.