SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The rise of CRISPR not only opens up multiple opportunities for genetic editing but also results in potentially threatening or controversial applications. Research needs to be done in order to appreciate how CRISPR affects the identity and role of individuals within society and reshapes social, political, and economic regimes. A bibliometric analysis of articles on CRISPR published in academic journals in the period 2012-2020 helps identify the main research themes on genome editing that have been addressed in social sciences and humanities so far. Results suggest that CRISPR studies have primarily focused on normative and ethical issues, together with more specific attention toward issues of public perception, trust toward science, regulation and governance of critical applications, and, especially, around the manipulation of the genome of human embryos. Results also suggest that issues of commercial, cultural, and geopolitical sorts have been left relatively unattended so far, instead. Attention to the implications of CRIRPS on such areas should inform the future social sciences and humanities research agenda on genome editing.