Researcher Defends Creation of Crispr Babies – Health

• Chinese researcher He Jiankui defends the public use of genetic engineering methods on humans. According to his own information, he would have modified the genotype of two babies in the laboratory.
• Chinese media reports that the researcher has not obtained the approval of his experiences.
• Experts around the world are indignant about the experience and anticipate a common explanation of Hes' experiments.

Faced with fierce global criticism, Chinese researcher He Jiankui defended his work that led to the birth of the world's first genetically modified baby. Science must do more to help people with disease, he said Wednesday at a congress of genomics researchers in Hong Kong, where he answered questions raised by international experts.

It debuted since it has sparked outrage among scientists and ethicists around the world on a YouTube video posted on Youtube. He announced the birth of the first genetically modified babies, Lulu and Nana. According to him, another woman is currently carrying a child with genetic modifications.

"I'm really proud of this particular case"

In a plastic bowl from his lab, he claims to have genetically modified the genetic material of the twins while they were still embryos. With the still-recent method of genetic engineering called Crispr / Cas9, children should be made resistant to HIV. An independent confirmation of the request does not exist yet. Only the statements of He Jiankui are known. The scientist wants to keep the identity of children secret.

However, the scientist points out that he has submitted research papers to a scholarly journal. His research had unexpectedly reached the public. This argument is astonishing because it itself broadcast the message in a speech on Youtube, just two days before the start of the congress.

In Hong Kong, he reiterated that he had persuaded several childless couples, healthy mothers and HIV-infected fathers to participate in the trials. In the end, one of the couples had twins. "I'm really proud of this particular case," said He. After the children were born, he received a message from the father in which he promised to work hard, earn money and always look after his two daughters and his wife.

According to David Baltimore, Nobel laureate, this case is evidence of a lack of self-regulation of science. Baltimore told Hong Kong that the Chinese researcher's work should be considered irresponsible. Baltimore said that it was not medically necessary. It was also in contravention of the agreements reached in the scientific field a few years ago. The Nobel laureate announced that a conference committee would issue a statement Thursday on the future of the subject.

One of the critics: the genetic engineering method is far too inaccurate

More than 100 Chinese scientists reacted in a protest letter by sharply criticizing the announcement made by He. "Direct experiments on humans can only be described as crazy," says the letter in which 122 researchers signed. The precision of the method used by He Jiankui and his mode of action is a very controversial topic among scientists. The experiments undermine the global reputation of Chinese science.

Chinese media reports He did not get the approval of his experiences. The Chinese government ordered an "immediate investigation". Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Xu Nanping, described the illegal experimental experience. The National Health Commission announced Tuesday in Beijing that it was verifying that the case was in compliance with the laws on responsible human health. He told Hong Kong that, apart from his team, there were only four people, including an American researcher and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

At the same time, Emmanuelle Charpentier, who co-developed the gene shear Crispr / Cas9 gene, said she was "very worried". "Jiankui clearly crossed the red line, mainly because, in his research, he ignored the concerns of the international scientific community regarding the editing of human germ lines," said director Max Institute. Planck of infectious biology in Berlin. Already on Monday, the other two key developers of the Genscher, the American researchers Jennifer Doudna and Feng Zhang, had distanced themselves.