[ad_1]
A major international summit on gene editing opened Tuesday in Hong Kong under the shadow of a recent scandal: researcher He Jiankui said Monday he published genes on embryos to make them resistant to HIV, causing an outcry from international scientific and academic communities.
Feng Zhang, one of the founders of Cas9 CRISPR technology used in the experience of He, a professor at MIT, told Caixin that the DNA edition still had a lot to do before being used in embryos.
"Basically, I do not think that genome editing is ready to be applied to embryos for implantation. There are still technical problems to be solved, "he said.
He also expressed his indignation that the babies were exposed to unnecessary risks. "There is a standard protocol for treating the mother who is not HIV-positive," said Zhang. "Since you already have an established and safe procedure, exposing the child to this level of risk is totally unnecessary and irresponsible."
Zhang also issued a statement Monday calling for a moratorium on the genetic modification of human embryos until complete security measures are put in place.
Source link
