Attitudes towards genome aditing among university students in Costa Rica

Abstract

A survey was conducted to describe the level of knowledge about genome edition, attitudes regarding production and consumption of CRISPR products, and perceptions of benefits and risks among 1144 students of the University of Costa Rica. Regarding knowledge about gene editing via CRISPR/Cas9, 11.0% had heard or read a little, some (11.8%), or a lot (2.8%) about it. The students had a positive attitude toward the application of CRISPR/Cas9 for nature conservation (79.4%), healing diseases in animals (78.5%), healing diseases in humans (76.5%), and for crop improvement (72.0%). Perception of benefits and risks were similar among students in different areas of study