Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 31, 2025
08:27
Applying an eMASS Customization Program as a Research Tool to Evaluate Consumer Benefits
Published on: September 27, 2019
7.0K
Heterogeneous attitudinal profiles towards gene editing: Evidence from latent class analysis.
Isaac N Halstead1, Jan R Boehnke2, Gary J Lewis1
1Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.
Public Understanding of Science (Bristol, England)
|August 25, 2022
Summary
Public perceptions of gene editing are complex, not a simple support/oppose spectrum. Research identified 10 distinct groups with varying views on gene editing, highlighting the need for nuanced public discourse and policy.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Bioethics
- Public Health
Background:
- Gene editing advancements offer disease treatment potential.
- Public acceptance is crucial for gene editing's integration.
- Previous studies lacked a comprehensive view of public attitudes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how public attitudes towards gene editing coalesce across diverse issues.
- To determine if distinct attitudinal profiles exist beyond a simple support/oppose continuum.
Main Methods:
- Latent class analysis was employed.
- Data from 4,726 US residents from The Pew Research Center was analyzed.
- Attitudes across a wide range of gene editing topics were examined.
Main Results:
- Ten distinct latent classes of public attitudes towards gene editing were identified.
- Attitudes showed some continuum but also clear qualitative differences.
- Opposed groups differed significantly from supporter groups in demographics and knowledge.
Conclusions:
- Public attitudes towards gene editing are heterogeneous.
- Policy and discourse must acknowledge this diversity.
- A nuanced understanding is essential for evaluating gene editing technology.
Related Concept Videos
01:49Multiple Allele Traits
34.6K
The Concept of Multiple Allelism
34.6K
02:16Stereotype Content Model
14.8K
The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) was first proposed by Susan Fiske and her colleagues (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick & Xu, 2002; see also Fiske, 2012 and Fiske, 2017). The SCM specifies that when someone encounters a new group, they will stereotype them based on two metrics: warmth—or that group’s perceived intent, and how likely they are to provide help or inflict harm—and competence—or their ability to carry out that objective. Depending on the warmth-competence...
14.8K
01:23Behavioral Genetics and Its Designs
485
Behavior genetics explores how genetic inheritance influences human behavior. It focuses on how genes, passed from parents to offspring, contribute to the development of behavioral traits and tendencies. This branch of genetics seeks to understand the complex interplay between inherited genetic factors and environmental influences in shaping our behaviors.
The primary methodologies used in behavior genetics include family studies, twin studies, and adoption studies, each providing unique...
The primary methodologies used in behavior genetics include family studies, twin studies, and adoption studies, each providing unique...
485
01:09Epistasis Analysis
5.1K
Although Mendel chose seven unrelated traits in peas to study gene segregation, most traits involve multiple gene interactions that create a spectrum of phenotypes. When the interaction of various genes or alleles at different locations influences a phenotype, this is called epistasis. Epistasis often involves one gene masking or interfering with the expression of another (antagonistic epistasis). Epistasis often occurs when different genes are part of the same biochemical pathway. The...
5.1K
02:32Position-effect Variegation
6.5K
In 1928, a German botanist Emil Heitz observed the moss nuclei with a DNA binding dye. He observed that while some chromatin regions decondense and spread out in the interphase nucleus, others do not. He termed them euchromatin and heterochromatin, respectively. He proposed that the heterochromatin regions reflect a functionally inactive state of the genome. It was later confirmed that heterochromatin is transcriptionally repressed, and euchromatin is transcriptionally active chromatin.
6.5K
01:18Polygenic Traits
66.4K
When more than one gene is responsible for a given phenotype, the trait is considered polygenic. Human height is a polygenic trait. Studies have uncovered hundreds of loci that influence height, and there are believed to be many more. Due to the high number of genes involved, as well as environmental and nutritional factors, height varies significantly within a given population. The distribution of height forms a bell-shaped curve, with relatively few individuals in the population at the...
66.4K