A volunteer may be pregnant under a genetic modification

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese scientist He Jian Kui, who unleashed a moral storm after announcing the world's first two genetically modified children, said he was proud of his work and revealed Wednesday that he "was not the only one in the world." another volunteer who would participate in her research would probably be pregnant.

He, an assistant professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology, in Shenzhen, China, delivered a speech to some 700 people at the summit on the human genome amendment of the United States. University of Hong Kong.

He said: "I'm proud … this study was submitted to a scientific journal for review", but did not mention the name of the scientific journal and pointed out that the university in which he worked was not aware of the study.

He said his work was self-financing and downplayed fears that the research was secret, adding that he had been in contact with the scientific community over the past three years.

He revealed this week in online video recordings that he was using a technology known as the Crisper-Cass 9 to tweak Jenny's twin twins born this month.

He added that genetic modification would help protect twin twins from the HIV virus. But the Chinese government and scientists have dismissed the work he said, and a hospital-related research reported fraudulent approval.

Cresper-Cass 9 technology allows scientists to cut and copy DNA, boosting hopes of genetic repair to prevent disease. There are concerns about safety and ethics.

More than 100 scientists said Tuesday in an open letter that the use of Crysper-C9 technology to modify genes in the human embryo was risky and unwarranted. "They opened the gates of hell," they said.

He said that eight couples signed up to participate in the research early and then withdrew. The study requires that the father be infected with the HIV virus and that the mother is not infected.

He added that the results could be applied to millions of people with underlying diseases and that he would monitor the twins for 18 years and hope that they will be able to remain under surveillance thereafter.