The scientist of genetically modified babies says that there is another pregnant volunteer

By Holly Chik and Farah Master [19659005] HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese scientist said Wednesday that he was proud of his work and had revealed that another volunteer volunteer could be part of the program.

He Jiankui, Associate Professor of SUSTech (University of Southern Science and Technology) in Shenzhen, China, addressed a panel of some 700 people attending the Human Genome Summit at Hong University Kong.

"In this case, I am proud," he said, questioned by several of his colleagues at the conference.

"This study was sent to a scientific journal for review," he said. He did not name the newspaper and said his university was not aware of his study.

When asked if there were any other modified genetic pregnancies as part of his trials, he noted that there was another "possible" pregnancy and the answered "yes". "to a subsequent question about whether there was a" chemical pregnancy ", a term used to refer to natural abortion during the first few weeks of pregnancy.

It was not clear whether the pregnancy was over or not.

The researcher, who stated that his work was self-financing, shrugged off concerns about the secrecy surrounding the investigations, explaining that he had participated in the scientific community over the last three years.

In the videos published on the Internet, He stated that he used a gene editing technology known as CRISPR-Cas9 to modify genes at the time. embryonic stage of twins born this month

genes would help protect girls from HIV infection, the virus that causes AIDS.

However, scientists and the Chinese government have denounced the work that he claims to have accomplished, and a hospital related to his research suggested that his ethical approval had been falsified.

The moderator of the conference, Robin Lovell-Badge, said that the organizers of the summit were not aware of the investigation until it was made public this week.

The CRISPR-Cas9 allows scientists to cut and paste DNA, so that it is a technology that increases the hope of finding genetic solutions for diseases. However, the safety and ethics of its use raise concerns.

The Chinese Society of Cell Biology strongly condemned Tuesday any application of gene editing on human embryos for reproductive purposes, and stated that this was against the law. Chinese Medical Ethics

More than 100 scientists, mainly in China, said Tuesday in an open letter that the use of CRISPR-Cas9 technology to alter human embryo genes was dangerous and unjustified. "The Pandora's box has been opened," they said.

(additional information of Anne Marie Roantree, translated by Tomás Cobos to the editors of Madrid)