China opens a "Pandora's box" of genetic engineering

SINGAPORE / SHANGHAI / HONG KONG (Nov. 27): The claim of a Chinese researcher that he managed to alter the genes of human embryos could force the country to make a difficult choice for the future. 39, the future of its booming biotechnology sector – a significant impact for an emerging technology arms race with the West.

He Jiankui, a scientist based in Shenzhen and trained in the United States, said Monday he would have used Crispr, a powerful gene editing tool, to make binoculars born recently resistant to HIV. His statement, which has not been corroborated by peer-reviewed data and has not been verified, has prompted scientists to be condemned on a large scale, many calling it an irresponsible use of a technology whose long-term effects are still poorly understood.

However that may be, no matter how truthful his claims are, it is likely that China, with its dynamic start-ups and less stringent regulation, will be the country where researchers will test the currently accepted borders as quickly as possible. genetic manipulation. The Chinese leaders are therefore faced with a dilemma: following the US and Europe by strictly regulating its application, or adopting a more passive approach, catalysing rapid innovation in a strategic sector at the cost of risks that could pose serious risks. for patients.

"It is always possible for other people to bypass ethical jurisdictions, or jurisdictions with rigorous ethical processes, and trying to apply technology," said John Christodoulou, president of genomic medicine at the University of Toronto. 39, University of Melbourne. "There are rumors about it in China."

A Chinese official said Tuesday at a press conference that China had banned the use of gene editing for fertility purposes in 2003. He, the researcher, will make public the data of the project Wednesday at an international conference on genetics in Hong Kong, according to a statement. representative. He did not respond to requests for comment.

Artificial intelligence

The Chinese scientist is under intense pressure to produce irrefutable evidence of his claims and to show that he is conforming to ethical standards. He said the twins were born a few weeks ago, although the births have not been verified yet.

The current debate on gene editing comes as China is aggressively advancing with what could be the other defining technology of the 21st century, artificial intelligence. The struggle between Western and Chinese companies to develop powerful AI systems has been compared to the Cold War arms race, because of both the speed of developments, and the fact that technologists like the Founder of Tesla Inc., Elon Musk, could have devastating consequences in case of error.

While Chinese companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd compete with Google Inc and Facebook Inc. for global leadership in AI, the Asian country has been much quicker to market applications that would spark serious ethical and regulatory issues elsewhere. Chinese cities are pioneers in mobilizing the potential of face recognition and bulky data to control the behavior of their citizens, even going as far as imposing automated fines for offenses like jaywalking.

It is easy to understand the appeal of driving in a similar way with gene editing techniques. In the medium term, they seem promising for the treatment of cancer and other deadly diseases, as well as for hereditary diseases. In the longer term, scientists could use gene editing to make humans smarter, more disease-resistant, and even physically stronger – a sci-fi future that may tempt a growing superpower who tries to replace the United States.

This week, several Chinese institutions, including the university where he was an associate professor of biology, quickly dissociated their work. At the Genetics Conference in Hong Kong, Renzong Qiu, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, recognized in the country as the "father of bioethics," said his work probably violated the laws in force.

Many unknowns

There are still many unknowns, especially regarding the so-called germ line modification – making alterations that will affect the descendants of an original patient – that He claims to have made in China.

Although some countries, including the United States, have restricted the use of Crispr in germline modification, Chinese regulations may not be as stringent.

"We have a legal moratorium on this here," US FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in an interview. "Potential applications are also relatively dangerous if they fall into the hands of people who are not discriminating or have bad intentions."

The rules in force in China do not impose sanctions and therefore do not constitute a powerful deterrent, said Zhai Xiaomei, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

In China, government guidelines issued in 2003 prohibit testing on embryos more than 14 days after fertilization and prohibit the use of gene-manipulated embryos for reproduction. The government's latest statement, published in 2017 by the Ministry of Science and Technology, only indicated that the research was high risk and required close supervision.

While China has allowed other revolutionary technologies to operate with relatively little interference, it would be a mistake to consider the country as wide open even for these innovations. Even the most powerful Chinese companies only work on the goodwill of the government, which can end their activities at any time, with virtually no recourse for the companies concerned.

A recent example comes from the games industry. Earlier this year, China suspended approvals for new computer games, designed to protect young players, blocking the channels of several Internet companies. A generalized reaction to the aggressive use of gene editing could provoke a similar reaction, or at least a dramatic suppression of efforts like that of He's.

His announcement clearly struck the nerves of many Chinese scientists. The country's biotechnology companies and universities have made considerable efforts to counter the suspicions that their efforts are fraught with fraud and the kind of unsupervised experimentation the Shenzhen researcher might have conducted.

The China Genetic Society and the Chinese Society of Cell Biology hastened to condemn his alleged work, calling it a serious violation of ethics. A group of 122 Chinese researchers issued a letter Monday saying the project was unfair to the vast majority of Chinese scholars who work conscientiously and respect ethical boundaries.

They urged the Chinese government to quickly impose clear regulations. "Pandora's box is open," they said. "We have a little opportunity to close it before it's too late."