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R Absolute withdrawal in different areas and even complaint to the police. This was the response of the Chinese geneticist He Jiankui, who claims to have created the first genetically modified babies, using the technique known as CRISPR to cause the mutation of a gene in two twins and make them, in theory , immunized against the AIDS virus.
The scientific authorities of this country opened an investigation into the case, which generated as many questions as critics. The Chinese Genetic Modification Committee condemned this experiment and warned that it went against the laws of the country and the consensus of the international scientific community. The hospital where he collaborated denounced him for alleged falsification of signatures in the authorization of the ethics committee which, according to the health center, never met.
One day after his surprising announcement, it is not yet clear if the experience is real. . If this has been done with all the necessary rigor and the support of an ethics committee, as the scientist badures in a series of videos on YouTube and on the site of his laboratory, or s & # 39; it is about a Frankenstein professor of the 21st century, acting alone and willing to do everything to realize his obsession. Or even if it is a big fraud.
The hospital with which the scientist claims to have collaborated, HarMoniCare in Shenzhen, in southeastern China, went further and filed a complaint for fraud. The signatures contained in a document by which a center ethics committee endorsed the investigation, according to the hospital, "seem counterfeit, and a meeting of our ethics committee "Never took place." We will ask the Ministry of Public Security (Police) to investigate the legal responsibilities. "
The South University of Science and Technology of China (Sust ) in Shenzhen, where I was the owner of a laboratory, denied knowing about the test. , that he had requested permission from the institution or that the experience had been developed in their facilities. He also pointed out that he was on leave from February to 2021.
The highest health body in China, the National Health Commission, said in a statement that he had given orders to the authorities. the provincials "investigate in detail and verify" He's claims. The Shenzhen Commission for Health and Family Planning confirmed for its part that the investigation had already been opened to "verify the authenticity of the ethical approval of the test."
The geneticist, trained at the American universities Rice and Stanford, surprised the world by announcing the birth, a few weeks ago, of Nana and Lulu, two Chinese twins modified by the gene CCR5, that the AIDS virus uses as a gateway to attack the human immune system. According to him, the girls are in perfect health at home and their experience has not caused any unwanted mutations.
The scientist, who returned to China in 2012, recruited seven heterobadual couples of test volunteers. In all, the man was carrying the AIDS virus. Until the embryos were successfully manipulated in "Grace", the mother of the twins, she used eleven embryos in six attempts to implant.
In videos posted on YouTube, he badured that he was willing to accept criticism and controversy around an approach deemed scientifically necessary. "It's not about creating designer babies, but about healthy children," he said. He does not try to "improve the intelligence, to change the color of the eyes, the appearance or something similar.It's not about that." His method, insists-t he, "could be the only way to cure a disease."
If what he says is true, it would have taken a giant step in genetic engineering. A step that the scientific community took for granted that this would happen one day, although subject to strict regulation. US and European legislation considers the experiment illegal. But in China, these experiences are less strictly regulated.
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