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Genome-edited baby claim provokes international outcry
A Chinese scientist claims that he has helped make the world's first genome-edited babies — twin girls who were born this month. The announcement has provoked shock, and some outrage, among scientists around the world.
He Jiankui, a genome-editing researcher from the Southern University of Science and Technology of China in Shenzhen, says that he implanted into a woman an embryo that had been edited to disable the genetic pathway that allows a cell to be infected with HIV.
In a video posted to YouTube, He says the girls are healthy and now at home with their parents. Genome sequencing of their DNA has shown that the editing worked, and only altered the gene they targeted, he says.
The scientist's claims have not been verified through independent genome testing or published in a peer-reviewed journal. But, if true, the birth would represent a significant — and controversial — leap in the use of genome-editing. So far these tools have only be used in embryos for research, often to investigate the benefit of using them to eliminate disease-causing mutations from the human germline. But reports of off-target effects in some studies have raised significant safety concerns.
Documents posted on China's clinical trial registry show that He used the ubiquitous CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing tool to disable a gene called CCR5, which forms a protein that allows HIV to enter a cell. Genome-editing scientist Fyodor Urnov was asked to review documents that described DNA sequence analysis of human embryos and fetuses gene-edited at the CCR5 locus for an article in MIT Technology Review. "The data I reviewed are consistent with the fact that the editing has, in fact, taken place," says Urnov, from the Altius Institute for Biomedical Sciences in Seattle. But he says the only way to tell if the children's genomes have been edited is to independently test their DNA.
Also at STAT News:
The Chinese university where He is an associate professor issued a statement saying that it had been unaware of his research project and that He had been on leave without pay since February, Reuters reported. The work is a "serious violation of academic ethics and standards," Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen said in the statement. The university said it would immediately launch an investigation.
(Score: 2) by The Archon V2.0 on Monday November 26 2018, @07:26PM (12 children)
> He Jiankui, a genome-editing researcher from the Southern University of Science and Technology of China in Shenzhen, says that he implanted into a woman an embryo that had been edited to disable the genetic pathway that allows a cell to be infected with HIV.
And then what, jab one of them with an HIV-infected syringe and see what happens? I mean, if we're already climbing out onto the amoral branch of the bioethics tree, with an eye on that juicy apple growing off the "mad science" twig....
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 26 2018, @08:26PM (2 children)
I found this article in a medical magazine [nih.gov]:
Seems straightforward to perform the test in-vitro. You only need a small test tube with the blood.
In other words, the chinese researcher did not create a monster - he only created a mutation that occurs in humans and naturally blocks the CCR5 entry.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Monday November 26 2018, @09:19PM (1 child)
That was the intention, but CRISPR isn't perfect or exact. It might have worked, or they might have a fascinating novel genetic disease that will manifest in years to come.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 26 2018, @09:37PM
Or, its just a random mutation to the ccr5 gene.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Monday November 26 2018, @10:06PM (8 children)
I wonder how the anti-vaxxer crowd will feel about their new uber-babies who come out of the womb pre-edited to nominally be disease-proof.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 26 2018, @10:23PM (7 children)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 27 2018, @03:29AM (6 children)
I just made a sub the other day about a senator who got vaccinated and died, not news I guess.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday November 27 2018, @03:40AM (5 children)
The crap headline on it doesn't help.
https://soylentnews.org/submit.pl?op=viewsub&subid=30289&title=47+year+old+NY+Senator+dies+after+flu+shot [soylentnews.org]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 27 2018, @04:16AM (2 children)
What is crap?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 27 2018, @04:30AM (1 child)
The stuff spewing from Trump's mouth.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 27 2018, @04:57AM
Yucky stuff?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 27 2018, @04:30AM (1 child)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 27 2018, @04:50AM
Yep, its impossible to ever know... what makes you say that?
Guy was apparently healthy. Guy got a flu shot. Guy developed symptoms he attributed to a reaction to the shot. Guy eventually sees a doctor and gets told he is having a septic reaction (overreaction to infection) to something. Guy dies of sepsis. Pretty sure we know what happened here as well as any other cause of death besides trauma.