Chinese scientists implant human brain genes in monkeys

Chinese scientists have implanted genes of the human brain into monkeys, thus taking a step forward in what has been described as the "ethical nightmare" field of gene editing.

In a study published last month in the National Science Review of Beijing, the journal of the Chinese Academy of Sciences sponsored by the state, scientists inserted the human gene, MCPH1, which was linked to the development of the brain, in 11 monkey embryos via a gene virus in the brain of monkeys.

Of the 11 rhesus macaque monkeys were used in the experiment, six of them died. Experiments were conducted on the other five.

"The use of transgenic monkeys to study human genes related to brain evolution is a very risky path," said James Sikela, a geneticist working with primates at the University of Colorado.

"It is disturbing that the pitch is rolling in this way."

Abstract science or abstract science?

The experiment, according to the scientific team in China, aimed to understand the evolutionary process that has led to human intelligence. The researchers believe that the MCPH1 gene could provide some of the answer.

Scientists conducted a series of tests on transgenic monkeys, including MRIs and memory tests, which showed that monkeys had better short-term memory and faster reaction times than the control group . Their brains also took longer to develop, similar to what happens in humans.

Although the Chinese team said their findings are significant, other scientists remain very skeptical.

Martin Styner, a computer scientist at the University of North Carolina, co-author of the study, told the MIT Technology Review that he was considering removing his name from the newspaper. Styner's role was limited to teaching Chinese students to use MRI data to collect brain volume data, he said.

"When we do experiments, we need to understand what we are trying to learn, to help society, and this is not the case here," Styner told MIT Technology Review.

"I do not think it's a good direction.

"They are trying to understand the development of the brain. And I do not think they succeed. "

Barbara J. King, emeritus professor of anthropology at the College of William and Mary, in an email interview with Vox, said the rationale for the experiment was flawed.

"More genetically modified monkeys – six – are dead than alive, so we immediately see that the procedure is often fatal," King said.

This kind of experience is "an ethical nightmare," he added.

"The costs are terribly high and the benefits for humanity are approaching zero; There is growing recognition that animal models just do not work well to study complex human processes, "said King.

"By what right have we subjected these primates to such grotesque procedures?

A different monkey case

China has been at the forefront of questionable scientific advances. In January, Chinese scientists deliberately cloned monkeys with genes that gave them debilitating congenital diseases. The stated intention of these modifications was to use these monkeys as models for creating different gene-based diseases.

Scientists have modified their genes to disrupt the natural cycles of monkey sleep, or circadian rhythms. Monkeys should have a life full of anxiety, depression and schizophrenia.

In China, a massive monkey breeding industry has developed in recent years to meet the growing demand for scientists for test subjects, according to The Atlantic. These facilities raise macaque monkeys for the purposes of national research or for export to researchers abroad. The price for a single monkey is also much lower in China – only $ 1,500, compared to $ 6,000 in the United States.

The Atlantic reported that many US scientists are traveling to China to conduct ethically unacceptable experiments in the United States. In the meantime, the Chinese regime has also increased funding for such research projects over the years.

Last November, a Chinese scientist had created a shock wave in the scientific community after claiming to have modified the DNA of a group of human twins by modifying the embryonic genes of the latter to increase their immunity to the HIV virus. Although the scientist, He Jiankui, was publicly reprimanded and sacked from his post at the university, other people suspected that he might have received state support.