California Bans Self Bio-Hacking Kits


A California “human biohacking” bill calls for warnings on do-it-yourself genetic-engineering kits

It’s going to be illegal in California to sell “gene-therapy kits” unless they carry a warning that says not to use them on yourself. Just one wrinkle: we’re not sure any such kit exists. Not yet, anyway.

The consumer protection rule is in a bill signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on July 30 and will become law in January. It targets hobbyist kits employing CRISPR, the versatile gene-editing tool that has revolutionized gene research.

Sales of certain do-it-yourself CRISPR supplies will be prohibited unless they carry a bold notice “stating that the kit is not for self-administration.”

The law appears to take aim at a California resident, Josiah Zayner, whose Oakland company, The Odin, sells genetic-engineering supplies to amateurs online. He won notoriety in 2017 when he filmed himself injecting CRISPR into his own arm.

Read More at MIT Technology Review

Read the rest at MIT Technology Review