He Jiankui shocked the world of genetics
Yes, I am very late to this party. The article I am writing about was published in Time on November 29th,
2018, a whole year ago. However, I was very shocked by the article, and thought it was worthy to share.
He Jiankui, a professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology, used CRISPR on embryos
against all ethical standards. The babies produced from the treat go by Lulu and Nana, and were intended
to be treated with CRISPR to disable a gene that helps HIV enter healthy cells. I think the most shocking
thing is that is performed the technique behind everyones back, against strict advice. Many problems
could arise from using CRISPR on human embryos, but He definitely has the guts to try. The only thing
left to do now is sit back and watch. The twins will forever be the focal point of every genetic
advancement from here on out. I am very interested to see what results occur.
Related article:
Hello Kelsey, I have been lightly following this research study mainly due to the harsh reactions from the scientific world. Editing the human genome is quite shocking. Recently an article was published by MIT Technology Review that goes into detail explaining the unpublished manuscript from He Jiankui and his colleagues. Some how this paper made its way into the hands of the reviewers. Their explanation of the study is quite remarkable. Not only did He Jiankui ignore current data and ethical reasons, his claims are not even supported by his own research. Mainly, the desired HIV resistance mutation was not successful. Rather, a new unknown mutation was created, which the effect is unknown. The article is very interesting, I'd recommend checking it out.
ReplyDeleteHeres the link
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614764/chinas-crispr-babies-read-exclusive-excerpts-he-jiankui-paper/