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The controversy began when specialized publications such as the American magazine MIT Technology Review echoed the study of scientist He Jiankui, who began streaming videos on YouTube in which he claimed to have altered genes of twins.
Chinese researcher Lulu and Nana, "were born healthy a few weeks ago," thanks to in vitro fertilization with a genetic modification technology "that will prevent them from becoming infected with HIV".
In these videos, I have badured used the CRISPR / Cas9 technique and justifies the experiment by stating that genetic modification "is not intended to eliminate genetic diseases "but" to give girls the natural ability to resist a possible HIV infection ". [19659002]
Deactivate the CCR5 gene
To achieve his goal, he claims to have "deactivated" the CCR5 gene, which forms a protein that allows HIV to enter a cell and this presupposes in practice an improvement in DNA .
"I understand that my work is controversial, but I believe that families need this technology and I am willing to accept criticism of them," he said in a
A concussion between University
However, the University of Science and Technology South of Shenzhen City today challenged his teacher in a statement and pointed out that he was not even aware of this project. 19659002] The institution is "deeply shocked by the case" and urges him, on leave since February this year, to come as soon as possible to give explanations.
"The University will convene international experts to investigate this incident, which constitutes a serious violation of ethics and academic standards," said the institution on the project, which also raised questions as to its veracity, since so far it has not
For its part, the Chinese press today acknowledged that the study had sparked controversy between academics and the public across the country.
Ethical Issues
The China Daily newspaper highlights concerns "for ethical reasons and for its effectiveness" and reveals that the parents of the two babies are people living with HIV, citing Bai Huai, leader of Baihualin, a non-governmental organization that cares for people with the disease,
] Meanwhile, more than 120 academics from the Chinese scientific community said in a statement published on Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, that "any attempt" to modify human embryos through genetic modification is "crazy", and that giving birth to these babies carries "high risk."
"The government must take quick legislative action to strictly supervise such research," the scientists added. Chinese physicists
The controversy also comes one day before researchers in this field begin an important meeting on genome modification, to be held from 27 to 29 November in Hong Kong.
"It's premature, dangerous and irresponsible"
At the global level, Nature magazine also joined the debate today and claims in an article that this announcement caused a "scandal" among the international scientific community and that, if true, "would represent a significant leap" in the use of human genome modification. "
" It's premature, dangerous, and irresponsible, "said Joyce Harper, a researcher at University College London.
" This experience exposes normal and healthy children to " the magazine.
Nature emphasizes that this type of tool has not been used until now to study its advantages for the elimination of mutations. s causing diseases, and adds that the scientific community "has long called for" the creation of ethical principles long before such cases occur.
In 2016, a group of Chinese scientists has become a pioneer in the use in humans, especially in patients with lung cancer, genetic modification technology CRISPR, reported by the journal Nature.
However, scientists in the UK have discovered that CRISPR gene modification technology can cause cell damage from what we thought up to now, according to a study published this year by the same magazine.
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