Editing genético (edición genética): ¿nueva cuestión bioética?

[Autom. eng. transl.] Controlled modifications in the genome are possible, through various techniques, since the 1970s. Nuclease with zinc finger, TALE nuclease, but above all CRISPR-Cas9 are genetic editing techniques (genetic editing) that have made them simpler. The CRISPR-Cas9 system, in particular, is proving extremely advantageous in terms of accessibility, efficiency and versatility. The objectives of this contribution are to: 1. reconstruct the outstanding “facts” that have determined the emergence of the topic of “genetic editing”; 2. Try to give an answer to a first and fundamental question about the originality of the ethical dilemmas raised by him with particular reference to CRISPR-Cas9. The conclusion is that, in the current situation, the use of these new techniques does not raise new ethical issues. The only exception seems to be given by the particular type of mutations induced by these techniques, unmistakable in the long term of those produced by nature, a fact that is already determining some difficulties in the classification of GMOs obtained through these techniques.