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"This research raises troubling scientific, legal and ethical issues," said Doug Miller, director of the Rice University Media Relations team. In a statement, Miller said Rice had "no knowledge of this job".
He claims to have used a tool called CRISPR-Cas9, able to insert or disable certain genes, to modify the DNA of several embryos to make them resistant to HIV.
Deem did not answer CNN calls and emails, but said to the Associated Press that he was in China with the families at the time they had given their consent and were "absolutely" convinced to have understood the risks.
Deem also claimed to have "a small stake" and to sit on the scientific board of two He companies.
Rice University stated that she did not believe that the clinical work had been done in the United States, but "no matter where it was performed, this work, as described in the press releases of press, violates the guidelines of scientific conduct and is inconsistent with the ethical standards of the scientific community and Rice University. "
Matthews wrote in an e – mail that she "had been surprised yesterday, like many others, to discover that Professor Deem had participated in this research". Adding that she had only recently started working with Deem, she said she had "seen nothing that suggested Professor Deem's scientific work was involved," and she did not believe no more than data contained in a co-author article would have been affected.
"Had Professor Deem informed me of his work using CRISPR on human embryos to develop a baby, I would have recommended extreme caution if we use this technology on human embryos and expect more risk data before using embryos handled for pregnancies, "wrote Matthews. [19659013] According to a press release posted on the Rice University website, it is became a graduate student of Deem in 2007 and co-authored several articles "of great importance" with Deem.
According to the university, he was "the son of rice farmers of Hunan Province in China" and was the lead author of Deem in an article presenting a mathematical model to determine within two weeks whether a new strain of the flu virus should be included in the annual seasonal flu vaccine. 39; Organ World Health Organization takes up to six months.
"Jiankui is a very influential student," said Deem in 2010. "He did a fantastic job here at Rice and I'm sure he'll be very successful in his career."