The Chinese scientist defends the effectiveness of his study of genetic modification

Hong Kong, November 28 (EFE) .- Chinese scientist He Jiankui today defended the effectiveness of his experience with which he claims to have created the first genetically modified babies in the world to withstand certain diseases such as HIV. 19659002] "The study yielded effective results and was submitted for review by the scientific community," he said during an intervention at the second conference on the subject. 39; Human Genome Edition at the University of Hong Kong.

In his speech, this one – who admitted that his experience had not been approved by any official institution – argued that the genetically modified binoculars, Lulu and Nana, "were born healthy and happy ", thanks to in vitro fertilization with a genetic modification technology" that will prevent them from infecting with HIV. "

I have justified the use of the CRISPR gene editing technique / Cas9 and stressed that the experiment was not aimed at eliminating "genetic diseases", but "to give girls the natural ability to resist a possible HIV infection".

"These people need help and we have technology," he said, noting that parents were aware of the risks badociated with the experiment and their consent.

"Although HIV treatment has progressed, new infections remain a problem for many countries, especially the least developed."

who experimented with seven couples whose one of their members was infected with HIV, and stated that there were "more pregnancies possible" among them.

Similarly, the scientist thanked the University of Science and Technology South of Shenzhen City. with which he worked, "even if they did not know" what he was doing.

Last Monday, the university announced that it would investigate the scientist to determine if his experience violated laws or regulations.

The university said to be "deeply shocked by the case", which she described as a "serious violation of ethics and academic standards".

The same day, more than 120 scholars of the Chinese scientific community pointed out that in a statement published on Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, "any attempt" to modify human embryos through modifications is "crazy" and that giving birth to these babies is "high risk". [19659012] At the global level, Nature magazine has also joined the debate today. In one article, he argues that the announcement caused a "scandal" among the international scientific community and that, if true, "would represent a major leap forward in the use of human genome modification." . "