{"id":2951,"date":"2026-06-24T16:40:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T16:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2951"},"modified":"2026-06-24T16:40:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T16:40:32","slug":"inventor-of-crispr-is-skeptical-about-ais-impact-on-medical-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2951","title":{"rendered":"Inventor of Crispr is skeptical about AI\u2019s impact on medical innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>By Annika Inampudi and Emily Chang, Bloomberg<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The inventor of the groundbreaking Crispr gene-editing technology is skeptical about artificial intelligence replacing human effort in the realm of scientific discovery, adding to a growing debate over its impact on medical research and innovation.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2949\">Trump abruptly cancels signing a housing bill, blindsiding Republicans<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Crispr-Cas9 gene editing rocked the scientific world when it was first introduced in 2012, earning Jennifer Doudna, professor of biochemistry at the University of California Berkeley, the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In an interview with Bloomberg\u2019s The Circuit with Emily Chang, Doudna challenged the idea that OpenAI Inc.\u2019s ChatGPT might soon get credit for drug discovery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think that innovation is still really in the domain of human beings right now,\u201d Doudna said. \u201cI\u2019m not seeing chatbots coming up with a brand new idea.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not everyone agrees. Pharmaceutical companies are striking scores of new licensing deals with AI companies in a bid to accelerate drug development. Anthropic PBC Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei has said it will eventually eliminate \u201cmost cancer\u201d by making it easier to tailor treatments to a patient\u2019s DNA.<\/p>\n<p>The long-term impact of artificial intelligence, including its harms, are yet to be determined. It\u2019s just one of the disruptions facing higher education and scientific research. The Trump Administration has terminated numerous federal grants from the National Institutes of Health, stoking uncertainty about the future health of medical research.<\/p>\n<p>The cuts challenge US leadership in the global race for scientific discoveries and technological advancements, Doudna said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery dollar that\u2019s been invested from the NIH in research leads to about $2.50 of economic benefit,\u201d she said. \u201cIf we don\u2019t continue our investment in science, others will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2947\">Two suspected in robbery at Sunvalley Shopping Center<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Crispr-Cas9 is a molecular technique that snips out targeted parts of DNA, a biological instruction manual that dictates which proteins the body makes, either replacing them with new sequences or removing the gene entirely. The technology generated global attention for its ethical implications and potential risks. Critics cautioned about potential so-called \u201cdesigner babies,\u201d whose parents may want to select eye and skin color and other traits, as well as the unintended harms that could result.<\/p>\n<p>Doudna downplayed the likelihood of using the technology to boost intelligence and similar traits, as that work is \u201cstill at a very early stage.\u201d Designing a baby is a lot more complicated than people realize, as multiple genes are involved and other factors including the environment also play a role. It\u2019s difficult to tease out the long-term outcomes of changing even one DNA sequence, she said.<\/p>\n<p>While the technology is revolutionary, Doudna said it still has a ways to go. For one, the process of editing is \u201cquite involved,\u201d she said. The most common way it\u2019s currently used is expensive and can be unpleasant for patients. And Crispr can sometimes edit the wrong gene sequence or fail to find the target gene.<\/p>\n<p>New ways to circumvent the limitations are already in the works. Earlier this month, scientists at Columbia University developed a new method to more precisely edit DNA, the New York Times reported.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The therapy is already starting to find applications in the real world. The US Food and Drug Administration approved the first gene therapy using Crispr in December 2023 for patients with sickle cell disease.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel very excited about where it\u2019s headed, the opportunities to treat people that have rare disease,\u201d Doudna said.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2945\">Posey gives one-word response about SF Giants\u2019 prospects of trading ace Webb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com<\/p>\n<p>\u00a92026 Bloomberg L.P.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cI think that innovation is still really in the domain of human beings right now,\u201d Jennifer Doudna, said. \u201cI\u2019m not seeing chatbots coming up with a brand new idea.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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