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(Bloomberg) – The claim of a Chinese researcher that he would have managed to alter the genes of the human embryo could force the country to make a difficult decision about the future of its burgeoning biotechnology sector, which would have significant consequences for a technological arms race with the West.
He Jiankui, a scientist trained in the United States and living in Shenzhen, announced Monday that he had used Crispr, a powerful genetic editing tool, to make newborn twins resistant to HIV. His statement, which has not been corroborated by peer-reviewed or verified data, has been widely condemned by scientists in China and other countries, and many have described it as an irresponsible use of technology. whose long-term effects The term is not yet fully understood.
However, regardless of the truth of He's claims, it is likely that China, with its aggressive startups and less stringent regulation, is the country where researchers will test the currently accepted limits of genetic manipulation more quickly. This poses a dilemma for its leaders: should we follow the United States? and Europe in the strict regulation of its application, or adopt a non-interventionist approach, catalysing rapid innovation in a strategic sector to the detriment of risks that could be serious for patients.
"It is always possible that others ignore ethical jurisdictions, or jurisdictions with rigorous ethical processes and trying to apply technology," said John Christodoulou, professor of genomic medicine at the University. from Melbourne. "There are rumors happening in China."
Tuesday, at a press conference, a Chinese official pointed out that China had banned the use of genetic publishing for fertility purposes in 2003. He, the researcher, will make public the Project data Wednesday at an international conference on genetics in Hong Kong. Kong, according to a representative. He did not respond to requests for comment.
Artificial intelligence
The Chinese scientist is under intense pressure to present convincing evidence and prove that he meets ethical standards. I have pointed out that the twins were born a few weeks ago, although the births have not yet been verified.
One of the co-inventors of the Crispr technique, researcher Jennifer Doudna of the University of California at Berkeley, recommended extreme caution before using it in humans. "No clinical use should take place at this point, until there is a broad social discussion," Doudna said during an interview in Hong Kong. "We have to be very specific: if anyone wants to enter the clinic, these are the criteria that must be met."
The current debate on gene editing is taking place as China moves aggressively with what could be the other defining technology of the 21st century, artificial intelligence. Competition between Western and Chinese companies to develop powerful AI systems has been compared to the Cold War arms race, because of both the speed of developments and technologists such as the founder of Tesla Inc., Elon Musk, they warn that this could have devastating consequences due to a miscalculation.
While Chinese companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. compete with Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. for global leadership in the field of AI, the Asian country has been much quicker to market applications that They would raise serious ethical and regulatory concerns in others country.
The attraction of advancing in the same way with genetic modification techniques is easy to understand. In the medium term, they seem promising for the treatment of cancer and other deadly diseases, as well as for hereditary diseases. In the long run, scientists could use gene editing to make humans smarter, more resistant to disease, or even stronger physically.
This week, several Chinese institutions, including the university where he was assistant professor of biology, dissociated themselves from their work. At the Genetics Conference in Hong Kong, Renzong Qiu, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, known in the country as the "father of bioethics," said his work probably violated laws in effect .
USA and many European countries have strongly restricted the use of Crispr for the so-called germ line edition – which makes modifications that will affect the offspring of an original patient – that he claims to have made in China.
A group of 122 Chinese scientists on Monday issued a letter describing the bill as unfair to the vast majority of Chinese academics who work conscientiously and respect ethical limits. They urged the Chinese government to quickly impose clear regulations. "Pandora's box is open," they said. "We have a little opportunity to close it before it's too late."
Original Note: China opens its doors to the "Pandora's Box" of genetic engineering (1)
To contact Bloomberg News employees about this note: Matthew Campbell in Singapore, [email protected], Rachel Chang in Shanghai, [email protected], Bruce Einhorn in Hong Kong, [email protected], Daniela Wei in Hong Kong, [email protected]
Editors responsible for the original note: K. Oanh Ha, [email protected], Anjali Cordeiro
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