I worked with the Genetic Literacy Project (GLP) to develop and design a global map to visualize how countries are deciding to regulate gene editing, a new set of of techniques that can be used to precisely modify the DNA of almost any organism. Gene editing is being used for applications in human health, gene drives and agriculture. There are numerous gene-editing tools besides CRISPR-Cas 9, which gets most of the attention because it is a comparatively easy tool to use. Countries are currently evaluating whether or not to regulate gene editing, since it is so similar to natural genetic mutations. This visualization will help regulators, scientists, and politicians quickly understand how countries compare in gene editing regulation and helps highlight novel approaches to regulation to effectively balance safety and innovation.
For this project, I wrote the country summaries for all types of gene editing. I also worked with a web developer and the founder of the GLP to design the visualization.
To explore the full visualization: Global Gene Editing Regulation Tracker