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Beijing (dpa) – According to a Chinese scientist, babies are born around the world after genetic manipulation. "Two beautiful little Chinese girls named Lulu and Nana are born in tears and are as healthy as any other baby a few weeks ago."
That said the researcher He Jiankui in a Youtube video. Thus, the intervention on embryos with the still very young method Crispr / Cas9 aimed at making children resistant to HIV do There is no certified scientific publication on the procedure, just an entry in a Chinese registry for clinical trials. There was also no confirmation from other sources.
In Germany, the USA and many other countries, such manipulations of the human genome are prohibited, because the risks are difficult to badess and the changes are pbaded on to future generations.
in China we obviously have fewer ethical concerns. "The Chinese Academy of Sciences does not seem to have discovered the research," said Peter Dabrock, chairman of the German Council of Ethics. "It is reasonable to badume that it is also to demonstrate the leadership of the Chinese in the field of life sciences."
"Experiences are irresponsible human experiences," he said. "Whether true or not, as claimed by the Chinese researcher, he said: At the moment, these attempts and even these announcements must be strongly criticized." According to an almost unanimous evaluation of experts, basic research is too much CRISPR/ Case still far from human use. "Side and late effects are always incalculable and difficult to control." The future of genetically modified children is completely uncertain.
According to an entry in a Chinese registry, the Chinese team involuntarily prompted childless couples, healthy mothers and HIV-infected fathers to join the experiments. By artificial insemination, many embryos have been created, whose genetic material has been modified with the aid of the Crispr / Cas9 gene scissors, used only in the laboratory since 2012.
According to the entry, the researchers around He were targeting the so-called CCR5 receptor gene, to which the HI viruses bind for infection of the cell. People without functional CCR5 protein are not infected with the virus – a famous example is the "Berlin patient" Timothy Ray Brown.
Protecting children from possible HIV infection by their parents was not the motivation – there are other simple, low-risk ways. "The procedure is not comparable to a vaccine, which should offer a high level of protection," Dabrock explained. One of the twins had already shown in the petri dish that the handling had not worked out. Nevertheless, both embryos were implanted. "This, too, is proof that he (He Jiankui) is not talking about a therapy or a therapeutic attempt."
He was conscious
He explains in his video message that his work will trigger discussions. "But I think families need this technique." He did not try to create children whose IQ could be increased and the color of their hair and their eyes selected, he said. Genetic modification should remain "an instrument of healing": "Parents do not want a baby designer, but only a baby unaffected by the disease".
One thing is clear: he holds several patents for techniques to modify genetic material; tangible financial interests should therefore be at least part of his motivation. The researcher studied at Rice and Stanford Universities in the United States before returning to his home country and taking charge of managing a laboratory at the Southern University of Science in Shenzhen City. , in southern China. According to the official Chinese media, he also owns a company specializing in genetic testing equipment.
The University of Shenzhen, where he conducts research, on Monday dismissed any knowledge of his experiences. "We are deeply shocked," he said in a statement posted on the university's website. The research was conducted outside of the university. He also did not teach his work at the university. He was "seriously against ethics and academic standards". A panel was instructed to conduct a thorough investigation into the case.
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