A Chinese scientist reveals that a second pregnancy modified by a gene is in progress

The Chinese researcher who has his project was allegedly created by the so-called two genetically modified babies in the world, revealing the dilemma faced by Chinese leaders trying to control a nascent industry aimed at dominating genomics research around the world .

He Jiankui – the Shenzhen-based scientist who shocked the world this week by saying that he had modified the genes of the embryos to make them resistant to HIV – said the study was pending. The US-educated researcher spoke for the first time at a conference on genetics held in Hong Kong where he sought to defend his work and answer questions from his peers .

"I'm proud," he said about the birth of the twins, who, he says, were born normal and healthy. He has not yet verified his claims and has not identified the topics of his experience. When it first appeared at the summit, participants, who included prominent gene editing researchers, had more questions than answers. He spoke softly and in a hesitant voice, and it was not clear whether the other "potential pregnancy" to which he referred was still viable.

The appearance of the scientist in Hong Kong failed to stifle the condemnation of the Chinese and world scientific community, who had mistreated him for his forbidden work in the United States and many other countries. His revelations sparked a heated debate over the ethical limits of genetic publishing and prompted calls for stricter regulation as the world feared that the world would come closer to producing baby designers.

"This is a truly unacceptable development," said Jennifer Doudna one of the key pioneers of gene editing technology. "I do not think it's credible for a medical need. We struggle to understand the implications of this work. "

On Wednesday, he stated that he had submitted his work to a scientific journal for review, without identifying the publication. He also pointed out that he had informed couples participating in the study of the risks badociated with the elimination of the CCR5-related gene, which he had suppressed in twins at the same time. using the Crispr gene editing tool.

His work is now the subject of three investigations in China and calls for renowned Chinese scholars to punish him. A senior Chinese government official said his work was illegal.

On several occasions during the session, he seemed puzzled by the profound ethical questions that were put to him.

When asked when he had thought about how the procedure would affect girls in their dynamic with family, friends and romantic partners throughout their lives, he replied, "I do not know how to answer this question. " using technology to help people with genetic diseases is a "compbadion".

Science and Ethics


William Hurlbut, a senior scientist in neurobiology at Stanford School of Medicine, said that he was one of the ethicists he had consulted at during the last two years.

Hurlbut, who sat on the US presidency council on Bioethics stated that, while knowing that he "was moving in that direction", he did not know the whole of project or make it understood. implanted embryos.

"I challenged him at all levels and I do not approve of what he did," Hurlbut said.

Nobel laureate David Baltimore, who also attended the conference on genetics, criticized the secret of He's work. "If he had been more open with what he was doing, it could have been part of a national or international discussion," he said. "I think he's acting irresponsibly."

He's affiliated institutions, including his university – the University of Science and Technology of the South – and the hospital of Shenzhen where he would have received the ethical approval the project, stated that they did not know about his work. He said that the university was not aware of the lab's work.

Harmonicare Medical Holdings, owner of the Shenzhen Hospital, said in a statement Tuesday that it believed that the signatures on a request to the hospital's medical ethics committee had been falsified, and that this committee had never met to consider He's proposal.

The Chinese scientific community, including several prominent research groups, issued statements against Mr. He's work, calling it a blow to China's scientific reputation around the world.

Tuesday, the Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Xu Nanping said that the Chinese project was a violation of the rules: the Chinese government said that China had banned the Chinese government. use of gene editing for fertility purposes in 2003.

Chinese law does not mention the use of Crispr, the revolutionary gene modification technique used by Il to modify the genetic code of twins. In contrast, the United States and many other countries have strictly restricted the use of Crispr in so-called germ line modification, which involves modifications that will affect the offspring of an original patient and is the type he would have performed in China.