He Jiankui, a scientist at the Chinese University of Shenzhen who works at a fertility clinic, reported that he modified the embryos of two girls who were born in early November. Thanks to this, the twins are to be resistant to HIV. Many scientists condemned the Chinese experiment, claiming that such activities were too dangerous and that it was “human experiments”.
According to the Associated Press, He Jiankui revealed his research ahead of the international conference on gene editing in Hong Kong on November 27. The AP failed to confirm He Jiankui’s words. The results of the experiment have not been published in any scientific journal. Additionally, couples who were to take part in the research wished to remain anonymous.
Jiankui admitted that he modified the embryos from seven couples who were treated at the infertility clinic. One of the women managed to get pregnant (she gave birth to two girls in early November).
The scientist emphasized that his goal was not to cure or prevent a hereditary disease, but to attempt to impart a trait that few people naturally have – the ability to defend themselves against possible future HIV infections. To this end, the twins had the CCR5 gene removed – it allows the virus to ‘enter’ inside the cell.
Many scientists have condemned Chinese reports, claiming that the use of this type of solution on humans is very dangerous, and the technique itself (called the CRISPR gene editing method) is little known. Such attempts are prohibited in many countries. One reason is that changes made to DNA can “pass” to future generations and lead to further undesirable mutations. “It’s an obscene human experiment that doesn’t defend itself morally or ethically,” said Dr. Kiran Musunuru, a gene editing expert at the University of Pennsylvania. “This is a human manual,” warns Dr. Eric Topol of Scripps Research.
There are also voices defending the Chinese experiment. One of them is the opinion of the famous geneticist George Church of Harvard University. The scientist noted that HIV is “a serious and growing threat to public health”. “I think it is justified,” commented He Jiankui’s revelations.
Comp. based on: apnews.com