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Genetically Modified Babies in China: First Published Parts of the Study

2019-12-04T16:02:33.033Z


Chinese researcher He Jiankui claims to have changed the genes of twins to be immune to HIV. Now published manuscripts suggest otherwise.



4699 words document the breaking of the taboo: The journal "MIT Technology Review" has for the first time published excerpts from manuscripts by the Chinese researcher He Jiankui, in which he describes how he intentionally genetically modifies human embryos. Thus, Lulu and Nana - the names of the twins born in 2018 - would be the first genetically modified babies in the world.

The announcement had caused international horror. There was talk of an unforgivable ethical taboo.

Doubt, if there is Lulu and Nana at all

More than a year later, crucial questions are still open. So there is no official paper documenting the procedure. Some critics even doubt that Lulu and Nana even exist.

The records now published are apparently files that He edited last 2018 and that he had submitted for publication under the title "The Birth of Twins after Processing the Genome for HIV Resistance". However, the prestigious journals "Nature" and "JAMA" had rejected a publication at that time, according to MIT Technology Review. On the one hand, because He had crossed an ethical border with his research and, on the other, because critical inquiries could not be answered.

He has disappeared for months, his lab was closed, the research team was dissolved. Many questions remain. To answer at least some, four researchers have analyzed the records for "MIT Technology Review," including an artificial insemination physician, an embryologist, a lawyer, and a collateral specialist that He claims to have used in his surgery. Your assessment is devastating.

Kin Cheung / AP

Hey Jiankui

The most important criticisms at a glance:

There is still no proof that the intervention has actually been successful . Although He had repeatedly claimed that, but the data from the manuscript suggests that although he might have brought about a similar gene change as intended, but not the same.

Specifically, it is about a protein that is encoded by the gene CCR5 and is an important gateway for the HI virus. There are some people who have a natural mutation in this gene that makes them immune to HIV. He wanted to give the children an exact copy. However, it probably came to deviations. In addition, other gene segments were apparently altered by the procedure, with uncertain consequences for the children's health. Exactly prior to that, previous studies had warned.

"The claim that they reproduced the CCR5 variant is an obvious misinterpretation of the actual data and can be described in one word: deliberate misrepresentation, " criticized geneticist Fyodor Urnov of the University of California. It is completely unclear whether the manipulation of the children actually makes them immune to HIV.

In addition, according to the manuscript, only one copy of the gene was changed in one of the girls. However, human cells each have two copies, one from the mother and one from the father. It is therefore likely that the affected girl is only partially protected, if at all.

In addition to scientific inaccuracies, the experts criticize He for overriding ethical norms .

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Allegedly genetically modified babiesThe incision

For example, it is unclear whether the parents of the children were pushed to the experiment. His medical advantage is in any case more than questionable . First, it was said that the intervention should prevent the HIV-infected father passing the disease on to the children. However, this can be prevented already with a sperm-cleaning.

The biggest risk for a baby to become infected with an HIV-positive parent is the transmission of the mother at birth anyway. But this danger can now be prevented with medication. The only possible advantage would be that the girls can not get infected in later life. But even that did not work out in the experiment.

In addition, the manuscript raises exaggerated hopes that millions of babies could be protected from HIV infection, the researchers criticize. "It would be like saying the moon landing in 1969 means that millions of people will soon be able to live on the moon," says Urnov.

It is also noticeable that among the authors of the manuscripts not a single doctor is listed who has performed the artificial insemination. Perhaps the doctors were not sure what kind of project they were involved in, the experts speculate.

According to them, the manuscript shows that it is still too early to use the gene scissors Crispr, which are said to have made the changes to Lulu and Nana, in human embryos. Some scientists do not seem to stop that. A Russian researcher has already announced that he wants to carry out similar experiments.

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2019-12-04

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