Rampage may stoke CRISPR fears, but scientists say it could be educational, too

When David Liu, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard, first saw the trailer for the latest Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson movie Rampage, he rolled his eyes. Liu has been working with the gene-editing tool CRISPR for about six years, developing a gene therapy that might one day treat human hearing loss, among other things. In Rampage, a rogue CRISPR experiment is responsible for turning a gorilla, a wolf, and a crocodile into huge, savage monsters. When Liu saw the trailer in a movie theatre, he chuckled and said out loud, “Seriously?” Yes, seriously. Rampage is a dumb action movie that features unbelievably indestructible monsters, an equally indestructible Dwayne Johnson, and several mentions of CRISPR. Though some... Continue reading…