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The Chinese government has ordered the blocking of the work of the research group of the Southern Science and Technology University in Shenzhen, led by Jiankui He. This decision was taken just days after the announcement by Jiankui He of the birth of the first human beings from embryos whose DNA had been modified with the Crispr technique. The research was not published in a scientific journal, but announced to the press.
Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Xu Nanping, has been entrusted to Chinese public television CCTV and said that his ministry "strongly opposed" efforts that have recently led to the birth of two girls endowed with a "good" DNA and announced that an investigation was underway. His experience, explained the deputy minister, "went beyond the framework of morality and ethics to which the academic world adhered and is shocking and unacceptable".
He Jiankui announced the birth of the Lulu and Nana twins, claiming that the goal of the experiment was to find humans resistant to AIDS. Subsequently, the same researcher announced a second pregnancy of embryo.
The ministry's decision was anticipated by strong criticism from the National Health Commission, which mobilized a group of experts to clarify what happened, according to Zeng Yixin, the commission's number two. herself. In another CCTV interview, Zeng said the case "seriously violates Chinese laws and regulations as well as ethical principles," ensuring that ministries and local governments investigate the case by ensuring that the violations are "punishable by resolution".
With the rapid development of science and technology, "research and its applications must be made responsible in accordance with technical and ethical standards".
As part of the second conference on human genome editing, the 14 major actors signed a unitary declaration in which "experimentation" on eggs, seeds or embryos outside the research labs is defined as "irresponsible" because they are not yet known. enough about the risks or the safety "of this way of acting." During the conference, his intervention provoked considerable controversy, although he declared himself "available to cooperate fully with all the investigations carried out". on my work ".
According to many scientists, this fact shows that the system has not been able to protect and monitor itself, but also to establish stricter rules and principles. Alta Charo, a lawyer at the University of Wisconsin and bioethicist, said "it was a failure, not the scientific community."
Then there are those who choose a third way: the modification of DNA for reproductive purposes may be considered in the future "but only when there is a clear medical need", with a clear understanding of the risks and benefits and under certain conditions. , concluded Victor Dzau, president of the American Academy of Medicine
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