The researcher He Jiankui says: For the first time, he managed to gather the genetic material of newborns in a totally artificial way. The twins are born.
The geneticist working in Shenzhen, Shenzhen, announced to the organizers of an international conference on genetic engineering in Hong Kong on Monday. The conference is due to start on Tuesday.
Babies should be immunized against HIV
He said in a video posted on YouTube on Sunday: "Two beautiful Chinese girls, Lulu and Nana, were born in tears and are as healthy as any other baby a few weeks ago." According to this article, the embryo was operated with the very young baby. The goal of Crispr / Cas9 is to make children resistant to HIV.
▶ A certified scientific publication on interventions is not yet available, but only an entry in a Chinese registry for clinical trials.
For baby designers, researchers are concerned with determining the genome of the child in advance. For example, genetic diseases could be excluded. Special genes could also exclude resistance to HIV infection, scientists hope. However, in most Western countries, this technology is considered unethical and is therefore prohibited.
"Irresponsible human experiences
Peter Dabrock, President of the German Council of Ethics, considers the sensation of the gene as essential: "Experiments are irresponsible human experiences". And further: "Whether true or not, what the Chinese researcher is claiming: at the present time, such are to criticize attempts and even announcements in the strongest terms."
According to an almost unanimous badessment, basic research is still far from being used in humans. Dabrock: "Side and late effects are always unpredictable and difficult to control."
▶ In contrast to the US press agency AP, He Jiankui claims to have artificially defined and badembled the genetic material for children of seven pairs in total. In one case, according to his statements, he had so far succeeded – twin babies with designer genes!
To parents and their place of residence, however, he provided no specific information, nor at the exact date of birth. The people concerned wanted to remain anonymous, said the scientist.
Until now, his claims and the actual scientific results have not been officially approved.
"I did not want to be the first, but I wanted to show an example of what was possible," said AP scientist He Jiankui. Whether the conception of baby genes is prohibited or allowed, "society must decide".
In China, the fight against AIDS and HIV through genetic research plays a major role.
He Jiankui studied in the United States, among others. at the prestigious Stanford University. However, he returned to Shenzhen China after that – and founded his own research company.
How does it work?
According to He Jiankui, genetic design technology badociates sperm and egg during artificial insemination.
• Next, sperm is treated in advance to be immunized against HIV, the AIDS virus.
After three to five days, gene developers treat the cells to achieve the desired gene combination. For example, the genre can also be defined.
Before the successful pregnancy, 11 parental embryos were created – it was only during the sixth attempt that the researchers succeeded.