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It will take years, maybe a decade at most, for Lulu and Nana to begin to understand how they are different from us. Born this month in China, the twins would carry genes – strands of DNA code – modified for immunity to HIV with an "update" tool while they were still unicellular embryos not yet in the womb of their mother.
At least, that is what He Jiankui one of the researchers involved, said. The Associated Press (AP), which for the first time reported its claims, says there is no independent confirmation yet. But if He Jiankui did what he says, an MIT publication is of the opinion, he wrote a "breathtaking medical feat".
How were the genes of Lulu and Nana modified? The inner life of the cells is difficult to explain without jargon, but He Jiankui (himself a father of two girls) does a rather commendable job. He added that an egg from the twin's mother, Grace, had been artificially fertilized with their HIV-positive father's sperm. In addition to sperm, his team "also sent some protein and instructions for gene surgery ," an operation that "removed the doorway through which HIV enters to infect people". A test performed before the implantation of embryos at their mother showed that the procedure had "operated safely, exactly as expected".
The gene that He Jiankui sought to disable is called CCR5, which forms a protein gate that allows HIV, the virus. which causes AIDS, to enter a cell. The technology used calls CRISPR-CAS9
You can see He Jiankui describe the procedure here.