[ad_1]
China He ordered an investigation to verify the claims of a Chinese scientist who would have created the first genetically modified babies in history, an act described as "madness" by many researchers.
He jiankui, professor at the University of Shenzhenin the province of Guangdong, announced in a video released Monday at Youtube the birth "a few weeks ago" of two twins with DNA it has been modified to make them more resistant to the AIDS virus.
"We asked health authorities in the province of Guangdong immediately opened an in-depth investigation to establish the facts, "reacted Monday evening to National Commission of Health, who said "attach great importance" to this case.
The announcement of He jiankui caused a wave of criticism from the global scientific community, even from the researcher's center, the University of Science and Technology of the South, who denied it and declared "deeply shocked".
The geneticist, trained at the American University of Stanford and who runs a special laboratory on the genome of Shenzhen, explains having used the CRISPR / Cas9 technique, the "genomic scissors". It can remove and replace unwanted parts of the genome, as if you correct a typo in a computer.
Twin Lulu and Nana were born after in vitro fertilization from embryos modified before implantation into the mother's uterus. This self-proclaimed medical scoop was not corroborated because the results of the Chinese team they have not been published in a scientific journal.
More than 100 Chinese scientists, mainly biologists and doctors, said in a statement that it was "crazy", which "is a blow to the global reputation and development of biomedical research in China"(AFP)
[ad_2]
Source link
