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First Known Attempt at Genetically Modifying Human Embryos in the U.S. is an Apparent Success

Accepted submission by takyon at 2017-07-27 11:08:07
Science

U.S. scientists have genetically modified human embyros [technologyreview.com] using CRISPR and have apparently avoided the worst of the off-target effects that have plagued previous efforts. The results are unpublished and the team is not commenting yet:

The first known attempt at creating genetically modified human embryos in the United States has been carried out by a team of researchers in Portland, Oregon, Technology Review has learned.

The effort, led by Shoukhrat Mitalipov of Oregon Health and Science University, involved changing the DNA of a large number of one-cell embryos with the gene-editing technique CRISPR, according to people familiar with the scientific results.

Until now, American scientists have watched with a combination of awe, envy, and some alarm as scientists elsewhere were first to explore the controversial practice. To date, three previous reports of editing human embryos were all published by scientists in China.

Now Mitalipov is believed to have broken new ground both in the number of embryos experimented upon and by demonstrating that it is possible to safely and efficiently correct defective genes that cause inherited diseases.

Although none of the embryos were allowed to develop for more than a few days—and there was never any intention of implanting them into a womb—the experiments are a milestone on what may prove to be an inevitable journey toward the birth of the first genetically modified humans.

Also at STAT News [statnews.com].

Previously: Chinese Scientists Have Genetically Modified Human Embryos [soylentnews.org]
NIH Won't Fund Human Germline Modification [soylentnews.org]
Group of Scientists and Bioethicists Back Genetic Modification of Human Embryos [soylentnews.org]
The International Summit on Human Gene Editing [soylentnews.org]
UK Scientist Makes the Case for Editing Human Embryos [soylentnews.org]
Second Chinese Team Reports Gene Editing in Human Embryos [soylentnews.org]
Scientists Keep Human Embryos Alive Longer Outside of the Womb [soylentnews.org]
Francis Collins Retains Position as Director of the National Institutes of Health [soylentnews.org]


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