A Chinese geneticist apologizes for the disclosure of the result of editing a gene in a baby

HONG KONG (Reuters) – A Chinese scientist at the center of a controversy over what he claims to be the world's first genetically modified children has apologized on Wednesday for the unexpected disclosure of the results while he exposed his findings at a conference in Hong Kong.

He Jiankui, associate professor at Southern University Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China, delivered a speech in front of a packed audience of about 700 people attending the Summit on the Human Genome Publishing in Beijing. University of Hong Kong.

"First of all, I have to apologize for this unexpectedly leaked result, which has been submitted to a scientific review for review," he said. He did not name the newspaper and said his university was not aware of his study.

In videos posted online this week, he said he used a gene modification technology known as CRISPR-Cas9 to modify the embryonic genes of binoculars born this month.

He defended the work, saying that gene editing would help protect girls from HIV infection, the virus that causes AIDS.

But scientists and the Chinese government denounced the work he said he had done, and a hospital linked to his research suggested that his ethical approval had been forged.[[[[

Conference moderator, Robin Lovell-Badge, said the summit organizers were not aware of the story until the case went off this week.

CRISPR-Cas9 is a technology that allows scientists to cut and glue DNA, which gives hope for genetic solutions to the disease. However, there are concerns about security and ethics.

(Graph explaining the CRISPR gene editing technique: https://tmsnrt.rs/2ReKG1R)

More than 100 scientists, most of them in China, said Tuesday in an open letter that the use of CRISPR-Cas9 technology to alter human embryo genes was dangerous and unjustified. "The Pandora's box has been opened," they said.

His research focuses on genome sequencing technology, bioinformatics and genome editing, according to his biography on the summit's website.

He earned his Ph.D. from Rice University in Houston, Texas, and worked as a postdoctoral researcher in Stephen Quake's laboratory at Stanford University, according to the site.

(Report by Holly Chik, Farah Master and Anne Marie Roantree, edited by Nick Macfie)