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posted by martyb on Tuesday June 11 2019, @06:22AM   Printer-friendly
from the CRISPR-critters dept.

Russian biologist plans more CRISPR-edited babies

A Russian scientist says he is planning to produce gene-edited babies, an act that would make him only the second person known to have done this. It would also fly in the face of the scientific consensus that such experiments should be banned until an international ethical framework has agreed on the circumstances and safety measures that would justify them.

Molecular biologist Denis Rebrikov has told Nature he is considering implanting gene-edited embryos into women, possibly before the end of the year if he can get approval by then. Chinese scientist He Jiankui prompted an international outcry when he announced last November that he had made the world's first gene-edited babies — twin girls.

The experiment will target the same gene, called CCR5, that He did, but Rebrikov claims his technique will offer greater benefits, pose fewer risks and be more ethically justifiable and acceptable to the public. Rebrikov plans to disable the gene, which encodes a protein that allows HIV to enter cells, in embryos that will be implanted into HIV-positive mothers, reducing the risk of them passing on the virus to the baby in utero. By contrast, He modified the gene in embryos created from fathers with HIV, which many geneticists said provided little clinical benefit because the risk of a father passing on HIV to his children is minimal.

[...] "The technology is not ready," says Jennifer Doudna, a University of California Berkeley molecular biologist who pioneered the CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing system that Rebrikov plans to use. "It is not surprising, but it is very disappointing and unsettling."

Alta Charo, a researcher in bioethics and law at the University of Wisconsin-Madison says Rebrikov's plans are not an ethical use of the technology. "It is irresponsible to proceed with this protocol at this time," adds Charo, who sits on a World Health Organization committee that is formulating ethical governance policies for human genome editing.

Third time's the charm? I guess they won't pick a genetic disease to target instead since preimplantation genetic diagnosis can already handle that. Others will have to resort to gene therapy after the child is born.

Previously: Chinese Scientist Claims to Have Created the First Genome-Edited Babies (Twins)
Furor Over Genome-Edited Babies Claim Continues (Updated)
Chinese Gene-Editing Scientist's Project Rejected for WHO Database (Plus: He Jiankui is Missing)
Chinese Scientist Who Allegedly Created the First Genome-Edited Babies is Reportedly Being Detained
China Confirms That He Jiankui Illegally Edited Human Embryo Genomes
China's CRISPR Babies Could Face Earlier Death

Related: HIV Reportedly Cured In A Second Patient


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 11 2019, @07:30AM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 11 2019, @07:30AM (#854102)

    The only ethically acceptable reason to allow this is to increase penis size. No other way is effective, save us the shame of average penises.

  • (Score: 1) by r_a_trip on Tuesday June 11 2019, @07:35AM (2 children)

    by r_a_trip (5276) on Tuesday June 11 2019, @07:35AM (#854104)

    Careful, you'll need deeper vaginas too.

    • (Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Tuesday June 11 2019, @12:59PM

      by fyngyrz (6567) on Tuesday June 11 2019, @12:59PM (#854177) Journal

      One word: Circumference.

      --
      I'm trying to give up sexual innuendo.
      But it's hard.
      So hard.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 14 2019, @12:26AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 14 2019, @12:26AM (#855358)

      No we won't. You don't transform the hot dog to a bratwurst, only to expand the hallway.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by realDonaldTrump on Tuesday June 11 2019, @12:28PM

    by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Tuesday June 11 2019, @12:28PM (#854160) Homepage Journal

    I have 3 sons. And there's no problem with the size of their penises. Believe me, there's no problem there. Possibly it will be a problem for your boys -- hopefully not, right? But that, I'm sorry to tell you, is not what they're working on with this one. Not the first thing they're working on. They're working on, less AIDS. On giving these beautiful babies the very rare, very special "gene" that, hopefully will keep them from getting one of the most common types of AIDS. Not, I think, the type they have in Africa. But the kind that went through New York and other places so terribly. The folks that have this very special "gene" can do some very freaky things. And possibly get sick from doing that. But, they're immune to the regular kind of AIDS. To the regular kind. And it's both the girls and the boys. I think it's hard for young kids today. It's a whole different thing. I tell my sons just to get a nice girlfriend and be happy, because it's dangerous out there. It's Vietnam, sort of. AIDS has changed a lot. I loved Studio 54. You'd see the top models in the world getting screwed on tables in the middle of the dance floor. You would see things you just don't see today primarily because of AIDS and other diseases. But it was incredible. You'd see the most beautiful women in the world, the most beautiful people in the world. Then, an hour later, you'd see them making love right in front of you. And I'm there saying, "excuse me?" I was dating lots and lots of women. I just had a great time. They were great years, but that was pre-AIDS, and you could do things in those days that today you're at risk doing. I'm very careful now. It's amazing. I can't even believe it. I've been so lucky in terms of that whole world.