Determinants of public attitudes to human gene editing: a global perspective.
Ongoing breakthroughs with CRISPR/Cas-based gene editing are set to revolutionise modern medicine, enabling cures to previously untreatable diseases and opening avenues for eugenic manipulation.
We developed an online survey to capture an international perspective on the issue of genome engineering. The survey was designed to record pertinent demographic details, and gauge agreement for specific applications of gene editing using a five-point Likert scale (Supplementary Methods). Specifically, we sought to determine whether there was greater support for gene editing in life-threatening diseases when compared to debilitating diseases; whether the acceptance of this technology varied between its use on human embryos or on terminally differentiated somatic cells; and whether it should be applied to non-health related traits such as intelligence, strength, or physical appearance. The use of gene editing technology was also explored in the context of genetically modified (GM) food, a technology which the public generally has a greater awareness, and where attitudes have previously been explored.
The files in this repository were used in the analysis of the data generated.
The raw and processed data files are available in the Data Directory.