A Startup's Stated Goal: Prove Embryo Gene Editing's Benefits Outweigh Its Risks
Origin Genomics aims to prove that the potential benefits of its technology for editing disease-causing genes in human embryos outweigh the risks, NPR reports. Note the shape of that claim: it is comparative, not absolute. The company is not promising that editing is safe; it is promising a favorable ratio, which puts the whole argument on how the risks are counted and over what stretch of time. Editing genes in embryos is the version of this work where the horizon is longest, because the results would be carried by people who had no say in the decision.
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The stated goal is about a balance — benefits outweighing risks — rather than an absence of harm. That's a lower bar than 'safe,' and it's the bar that gets advertised.
A ratio is only as good as its denominator. The interesting question isn't whether the comparison gets made, but which risks are on the risky side of it.