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Beijing – According to a Chinese scientist, babies are born around the world after genetic manipulation. "Two beautiful Chinese girls, Lulu and Nana, were born in tears and are as healthy as any other baby a few weeks ago," said researcher He Jiankui in a video broadcast on Youtube on Sunday.
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Thus, the intervention on embryos with the Crispr / Cas9 method still very young aimed to make children resistant to HIV.
There is still no certified scientific publication on interventions, but only one entry in a Chinese registry for clinical trials.
"Experiences are irresponsible human experiences," said Peter Dabrock, chairman of the German Council of Ethics, at the proclamation. "Whether it is true or not of what the Chinese researcher is saying, he is at the moment harder to criticize."
According to an almost unanimous badessment, basic research is still far from being used in humans. "Side and late effects are always unpredictable and difficult to control." (AP)
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Background: Gen Crispr / Cas9 scissors
Here's how gene scissors work:
Gen Crispr / Cas9 scissors are based on a defense mechanism of bacteria. In the 1980s, researchers discovered unusual and repetitive sequences in the genome of microorganisms. It was later discovered that bacteria protect themselves against virus invasion by incorporating fragments of their genetic material into their own DNA. Thus, they can recognize the intruder in a renewed and targeted attack. This occurs by activating the incorporated DNA sequences and transcribing them into so-called RNA-DNA molecules.
The second – cutting – part of the scissors gene is the Cas9 enzyme. It captures the genetic material in the controlled place, originally that of the intruder.
Two researchers, the French microbiologist Emmanuelle Charpentier and the American biochemist Jennifer Doudna, have started using the molecular research and cutting machine specifically for genome work. His study was published in 2012 in the journal Science. The genes can be modified, activated or deactivated and supplemented or replaced by foreign components with the mini-tool. Emmanuelle Charpentier is currently director of the Max Planck Institute for Infectious Biology in Berlin.
Since 2013, we know that Crispr / Cas9 also works in humans. In addition to Cas9, other enzymes are being tested as cutting tools. He also showed that Crispr can not only cut DNA, but also slightly different RNA. Thus, scissors genes are also eligible for the fight against dangerous viruses such as HIV.
However, there are still unresolved issues, such as reliable repair of cut sequences.
Crispr is the abbreviation of Short palindromic repeats regularly spaced and grouped.
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