The CRISPR revolution: Changing life will bring together experts from industry, academia and government to discuss the current state-of-the art in the use of the CRISPR/Cas9 system to understand biological pathways, to create cellular and animal models of disease, to develop improved agricultural crops and farm animals and to create new human therapies to correct somatic gene defects that lead to disease.

Following rapid advances in the research laboratory, the field is beginning to witness the first commercial applications of CRISPR/Cas9.  This meeting will address the technical, regulatory and ethical challenges associated with the commercialisation of CRISPR modified crop and animal species, and with the development of novel gene therapies created through the use of genome editing technologies.

The meeting includes an introductory session on CRISPR itself, its application in agricultural science, the role it plays in human medicine, and finally a panel session on the ethical considerations of genome editing.

This open event is intended for participants from industry, academia and government who have an interest in genome editing. The conference is part of the Royal Society's "Transforming our future" conferences in the life sciences, supported by AstraZeneca. This conference series was launched to address the major scientific and technical challenges of the next decade and beyond.

Each conference focuses on one topic and covers key issues, including:

• The current state of the key industry sectors involved
• The position of the UK and how it can benefit from the technology
• The future direction of research
• The challenges faced in turning research into commercial success
• The skills base needed to deliver major economic scientific advances
• The wider social and economic impacts

The conferences are a key component of the Society’s five-year "Science, Industry and Translation" initiative which demonstrates their commitment to reintegrate science and industry at the Society and to promote science and its value by connecting academia, industry and government.

For further information on this meeting, please see the event webpage here.