China puts an end to the activities of a young researcher in gene editing

STOPPED. Photo archive of Chinese scientist He Jiankui at a roundtable after his speech at the Second International Summit on the Modification of the Human Genome in Hong Kong. Photo of Anthony Wallace / AFP

BEIJING, China – On Thursday, November 28, a Chinese scientist who fomented accusations that he created the first genetically modified babies in the world has been facing increasing pressure.

The National Health Commission of China has ordered an investigation into the experience of He Jiankui, who has been condemned by the Chinese and foreign scientific community.

Chinese Vice Minister of Science and Technology Xu Nanping said, "The incident involving gene-modified babies, reported by the media, has flagrantly violated the laws and regulations in force in our country. country".

The claims were "shocking and unacceptable" and violated "the bottom line of morality and ethics to which the university community adheres," he told CCTV.

The Ministry of Science and Technology "strongly opposes" to the experience and "has already asked the organization concerned to suspend the scientific activities of the competent staff," added Xu.

The experiment, led by He, claims to have succeeded in altering the DNA of twins born a few weeks ago to prevent them from contracting HIV.

The scientist had said at a busy biomedical conference in Hong Kong on Wednesday, Nov. 28 that he was "proud" of having managed to tweak the DNA of the twins.

But the details of the experiment, which have not been independently verified, triggered an immediate reaction and he said the trial was "suspended".

He was supposed to speak again at the conference on Thursday, but he disappeared from the program.

David Baltimore, Nobel laureate and chairman of the organizing committee, told reporters that it was his decision not to attend.

& # 39; A little crazy & # 39;

According to the Hong Kong media, the founder of a Beijing-based HIV support group said Thursday that he regretted having introduced families to He for the trial, the journalist told reporters. Hong Kong.

Bai Hua, the group leader, said that he had introduced his family's team to 50 families.

"At first we did not understand what they were really doing – in fact, my personal feeling is that they are a little crazy," he told RTHK.

Bai added that he had spoken to two of the families involved in the lawsuit and asked if the risks and ethical issues had been fully explained to them.

"The team has always insisted that the chances of success were great and that there were risks, but they were weak," he told RTHK.

In Hong Kong, the organizers of the second International Summit on the Modification of the Human Genome have denounced the "unexpected and deeply troubling" claims that human embryos have been modified and implanted, and called for closer monitoring of the land in the end. of the conference on Thursday.

"Even if the changes were verified, the procedure was irresponsible and did not comply with international standards," they said in a statement.

"His defects include inadequate medical indication, a poorly designed study protocol, non-compliance with ethical standards for protecting the welfare of research subjects, and a lack of transparency in the development, revision, and conducting clinical procedures, "adds the text.

Impact for life

Eight pairs of volunteers – HIV positive fathers and HIV negative mothers – enrolled in the trial, one of them having been abandoned before being put on hold.

Professor He stated that there had been "another potential pregnancy" involving a second couple, but it is unclear whether this pregnancy is still ongoing.

Experts have warned that modifying human embryos can create unexpected mutations in other areas, called "untargeted effects," that can have an impact throughout life.

The University of Science and Technology of the South stands out from He, claiming that he had been on leave without pay since February and had "seriously violated academic ethics".

The Stanford-trained researcher explained that twins' DNA had been modified using CRISPR, a technique that allows scientists to remove and replace a strand with extreme precision.

Technology co-creator Jennifer Doudna said she felt "horrified" to hear about it, adding that she was deeply concerned for those affected and wondered if they had really understood the procedure.

Summit organizers said that germline genome modification could become "acceptable" in the future if rigorous criteria were met, but that there were too many scientific and technical uncertainties to allow clinical trials at this stage. – Rappler.com