In #CasTalks, our team has made a series of short online videos to educate the public on the concepts of genome editing, the potential applications, addressing some of the misconceptions present and the idea of organism enhancement using genome editing technology. We have identified the public to be our greatest stakeholder, as they would probably be the biggest group that would eventually consume the technology. This segment of our human practices is directed to the general public, which complements #CasTeaches, a series of informal lectures given to students.

We will take our audience through a journey, starting from understanding the scientific basis of genetic editing. Our teaser video parallels a simple analogy to DNA editing and posts ambiguity on how DNA editing may post as a potential treatment but yet not widely used in therapy. Engaging the public on some of their thoughts on genome editing aided us in establishing some misconceptions people have on genome editing that we felt were important to address. To do so, we have sourced out professionals in the field to debunk the top four misconceptions to provide a clearer picture in the field of genome editing for the public.

Further into the journey, we want to dispel misunderstanding about certain scientific terms. Through our survey responses in #CasAsks, we realised that some respondents perceived genome editing as a means for genetic enhancement and, unrealistic enhancements at that. Thus, we asked the professionals for an explanation of genetic enhancement and the potential for genetic enhancement to enable ‘designer babies’. Our team recognised the danger in dabbling on the genetic material that will eventually be passed down to future generations, which helped us veer towards a more temporary solution to editing: RNA editing.

At last, we wish to engage the audience at a personal level, by introducing them to ethical issues involved in genetic manipulation technology and encouraging them to adopt a personal stance for the ethics behind the scientific concepts introduced previously.