The two CRISPR babies in China could have a shorter life expectancy

As Review of MIT technology Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley have analyzed the DNA and death records of more than 400,000 volunteers in British Biobank, a large database of British genes. When they compared DNA to death records, they discovered that people with two non-active CCR5 genes died 20% faster than the rest of the sample population. This may be explained by the fact that people with a CCR5 mutation seem more susceptible to diseases such as West Nile virus or influenza. According to the report, mutations similar to those he's created have shortened people's lives by 1.9 years on average.

The researchers hope that this will serve as an edifying account. Like many genes, CCR5 has several goals, some of which are not fully understood. Earlier this year, a research published in the journal Cell people who do not have the CCR5 gene could recover more quickly after a stroke or traumatic brain injury. This suggests that this may play a role in the functioning of the brain, as well as in immunity. This also suggests that gene modification could have unintended consequences, and opponents say that it is one more reason why we should not be people in charge of gene modification, at least not yet.