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According to the Associated Press (AP),
a Chinese scientist claims he successfully created the world's first
genetically-edited babies.
Chinese researcher He Jiankui, a research
professor at China's Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen,
said he had edited DNA of twin girls born a few weeks ago. ①
He's claims were immediately criticized
by some scientists as unsafe and unethical. This kind of gene editing is
forbidden in the United States and many other countries. ②Such changes to a person's DNA can pass
to future generations and risk harming other genes.
In interviews, He Jiankui defended his
work. He said he had performed the gene editing to help protect the babies from
future infection of HIV, the virus responsible for the disease AIDS. He said
the process had “worked safely” and the twin girls were “as healthy as any
other babies.” He told the AP he felt a strong responsibility “not just to make
a first, but also to make an example” for future research. “Society will decide
what to do next,” he said.
When He's claims became public, the
university made a statement saying his work had “seriously went against
academic ethics and standards.” University officials said they had no knowledge
of his research and had looked into the case. ③
China's National Health Commission was
“highly concerned” about the claims and ordered local health officials “to
immediately look into” He's activity. “We have to be responsible for the people's
health and will act on this according to the law,” the commission said.
Scientists discovered in recent years a new
way to edit genes that make up a person's DNA throughout the body. The tool,
called CRISPR-cas9, makes it possible to change DNA to supply a needed gene or
take one away that is causing problems. So far the tool has only been used on
adults to treat deadly diseases, and the changes only affected that person.
④Kiran Musunuru, a scientist from
University of Pennsylvania, told the AP that if such an experiment had been
carried out on human beings, it could not be “morally or ethically reasonable.”
Julian Savulescu, a medical ethics expert at Britain's University of Oxford,
agreed. “If true, this experiment may cause disasters,” he told Reuters.
However, one well-known geneticist, Harvard
University's George Church, defended the attempt to edit genes to prevent
infections of HIV. He told the AP that since HIV is “a major and growing public
health threat” he finds such experiments “valuable.”
