For first time, scientists CRISPR viable embryos

Mark this as a milestone: Scientists in China have used a next-generation form of CRISPR genome-editing to repair a disease-causing mutation in human embryos, the first use of the technique in viable embryos that were created by a standard fertility clinic technique. The new research comes as scientists have unveiled improved, more precise forms of CRISPR and as experts and ethicists have grown more comfortable with the idea of editing early-stage IVF embryos in such a way that the changes would be inherited by subsequent generations. For the study, the scientists used a form of CRISPR called base editing to correct the Marfan mutation. The study was just a proof of concept; the embryos were not transferred into wombs. STAT's Sharon Begley has more here.