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HONG KONG – A Chinese scientist who unleashed an ethical storm to claim to have achieved the goals first genetically modified babies of the world, said Wednesday that he was proud of his work and had revealed that there could be another pregnant volunteer as part of the investigation.
He Jiankui, associate professor at SUSTech (University of Science and Technology of the South) in Shenzhen, China, spoke in front of a room filled with some 700 people who attended the Human Genome Summit held in Beijing. 39, University of Hong Kong.
"In this case, I am proud," he said after being interviewed by several of his colleagues at the conference.
When asked if any other genetic pregnancies had been published as part of his trials, he noted that there was another pregnancy "possible" and answered "yes" to a later question, namely whether or not it was a pregnancy. "chemical pregnancy", a term used for natural abortions in the first weeks of pregnancy.
It was not clear whether this pregnancy was over or not.
"This study has been sent to a scientific journal for review," said the scientist. He did not name the magazine and said his university was not aware of his study.
In videos posted online this week, he said he used a gene editing technology called CRISPR-Cas9 to alter the embryonic-stage genes of twins born this month.
He said that gene modification would help protect girls from HIV infection, the virus that causes AIDS.
However, scientists and the Chinese government denounced the work he claimed to have done, and a hospital linked to his research suggested that his ethical approval had been falsified.
The moderator of the conference, Robin Lovell-Badge, said that the event organizers were not aware of the investigation until it was made public. this week.
CRISPR-Cas9 allows scientists to cut and paste DNA, so it's a technology that increases the hope of finding genetic solutions for diseases. However, its use raises concerns about safety and ethics.
The Chinese Society of Cell Biology strongly condemned Tuesday any application of gene editing on human embryos for reproductive purposes and said that this violated Chinese law and medical ethics.
More than 100 scientists, mainly in China, said in an open letter Tuesday that the use of CRISPR-Cas9 technology to alter human embryo genes was dangerous and unjustified. "The Pandora's box has been opened," they said.
The scientist, who said he is against the improvement of genes, said that eight couples were initially enrolled for their study and one defected. The required criterion was that the father was HIV-positive and the mother HIV-negative.
He also stated that all participants had a "good level of education" and that they had had two rounds of discussion with him and his team.
The consent form given to couples mentions multiple risks, but there is little detail about the potential complications of the gene editing process itself, and it is not mentioned that such a experience had never been done before.
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