Luca Chiapperino, PhD, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Sophie van Baalen, PhD, Rathenau Instituut, The Netherlands
Eline Bunnik, PhD, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Epigenetics Communications is calling for submissions to our Collection on Epigenetic editing in/with/for society. This Collection aims to investigate the ethical, legal, and social aspects (ELSA) of epigenetic editing.
Epigenetic editing holds the promise of substantive advancements in medicine, agriculture, and biotechnology by enabling precise molecular modifications inducing stable gene expression changes that do not alter the underlying DNA sequence. While these developments promise significant benefits, they also raise important ethical, legal, and social questions that require thorough exploration and thoughtful discussion. This Collection seeks to address these issues by encouraging researchers from all fields (e.g. ethics, law, economics, social sciences, life sciences, etc.) interested in epigenetic editing to contribute to its scrutiny. Our goal is to foster a broader debate on the societal circulation of epigenetic editing (cf. Alex and Winkler 2023), which complements a mere focus on the normative evaluation of its concrete applications with an active effort to foster responsible research and innovation around this technology.
We invite life scientists, ethicists, legal scholars, social scientists, and policymakers to submit manuscripts exploring (but not limited to) the following themes and questions:
• What considerations pertain to the (largely uninvestigated) uses of epigenetic editing for crops and farming?
• What are the ethical considerations surrounding the use of epigenetic editing in humans; and, in particular, how do considerations vary when it comes to somatic vs. germline or in vivo vs. ex vivo modifications?
• Are there ethical, legal and social considerations that apply differentially to the use of epigenetic editing in humans for therapeutic, preventative or enhancement purposes?
• How does and how much should the scrutiny of epigenetic editing relate to genetic editing? With what consequences on its public representation and perception?
• What can we learn, for the responsible development of epigenetic editing, from a decade of first-hand engagement with research and innovation on this technology?
• What are the potential implications of epigenetic editing for social equity and justice, particularly in relation to (a) access to, (b) control over these technologies?
• Would the systematic use of epigenetic editing impact human diversity or the societal understanding of neurodivergences, disabilities, etc.?
• How should current ethical, legal and regulatory frameworks in the life sciences and medicine be adapted to address the unique challenges posed by epigenetic editing?
• How can meaningful public engagement and dialogue around epigenetic editing be facilitated to inform policy and ethical guidelines?
• How can interdisciplinary research efforts be coordinated to ensure that ethical and social considerations play a crucial role in future research and development in epigenetic editing?
There are currently no articles in this collection.
This Collection welcomes submissions of original research and review articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal.
Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. Please, select the appropriate Collection title “Epigenetic editing in/with/for society" under the “Details” tab during the submission stage.
Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.
The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer-review process. The peer-review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.