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Reuters.- Health officials and medical ethics in China on Monday opened an investigation into the statements of a scientist who had posted videos on YouTube claiming to have changed the genes of twins born at the beginning of the month; which would mean that he created the first genetically modified babies.
The South University of Science and Technology of Shenzhen City, in southern China, where scientist He Jiankui has an associate chair, said that he was not aware of the project and that the researcher was on leave without pay since February.
I've defended what he claims to have accomplished by saying that he had achieved genetic editing to help protect babies from future HIV infection. But the university said the investigation constituted a "serious violation of ethics and academic standards" and that experts around the world condemned it, calling it monstrous and dangerous .
The entity issued a statement after it said in five videos released on Monday that it was using a genetic modification technology called CRISPR-Cas9 to alter the genes of the Lulu and Nana twins, the names of babies according to He.
The National Health Commission of China declared "very concerned" and ordered the provincial health authorities "to investigate immediately and clarify the case". "We must be responsible for the health of the people and we will act according to the law," he said in a statement.
The Shenzhen Medical Ethics Committee said that he was investigating the case.
I've stated in one of the videos that the editing process, which he called surgical surgery, "worked as safely as expected" and that the girls are "in such good health. than any other baby ". It was impossible to verify the statements as the expert did not provide written documentation concerning his study.
CRISPR-Cas9 is a technology that allows scientists to cut and paste DNA, thus offering hope for genetic solutions against diseases. However, he also raises concerns about his safety and ethics.
"If that's true, this experience is monstrous," said Julian Savulescu, a specialist in medical ethics at the University of Oxford in the UK. Kathy Niakan, an expert at the Francis Crick Institute in London, said: "If that is true (…), it would be a very irresponsible, unethical operation. and dangerous genomic publishing technology. "
The Southern University of Science and Technology said it would be on leave until 2021. Contacted for comments, he clarified – without specifying a date – that he had several years of voluntary license to devote himself to his research.
"I understand that my work will be controversial, but I think families need this technology, and I'm willing to accept their criticisms," the scientist explains in one of the videos.
In a previous interview with Reuters, he said his goal was to give babies "lifelong protection" from HIV, who started working in the second half of 2017 and enrolled eight HIV-positive couples. Five chose to implant embryos, including the parents of the twins, identified only by the pseudonyms Mark and Grace.
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