"Two beautiful Chinese girls, Lulu and Nana, came into the world a few weeks ago crying and as healthy as another baby," He Jiankui said in a video posted on Nov. 25 on YouTube.
According to He, genetic modification of embryos was performed with the new CRISPR-Cas9 technique, with the aim of making infants resistant to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
The researcher Southern University of Science and Technology guarantees that genetic modification has been successful and that only one gene has been modified to prevent HIV infection. The identity of the babies and their parents was kept secret, but according to him, the father is HIV-positive and wanted to prevent their children from being discriminated against.
He explained that he and his team had convinced couples without children to participate in the experiments and had used the technique of fertilization. in vitro. Scientists have modified the genomes of 16 embryos to eliminate the CCR5 receptor because people who do not have one can not contract HIV.
DW: How realistic is this news from China?
Jan O. Korbel: The human genome can already be modified for a while. However, the European Union prohibits these experiments on its territory. There is still a lack of important basic information about the conditions under which this experiment was carried out. There is no publication on this subject and, as a result, there is no evaluation study that independently proves that this is scientifically verifiable.
What are the risks of manipulating the genome with CRISPR / Cas9?
The CRISPR / Cas9 method is a precise technique to use for a selected purpose, but genetic modifications outside this area can not be ruled out.
Scientists He Jiankui and Zhou Xiaoqin in their laboratory in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province.
What are the advantages of CRISPR / Cas9?
This has advantages in basic research, for example. Researchers can make changes to virtually any part of the genome. Therefore, the genetic material can be studied much more specifically than before.
There are also very promising potential applications in applied research, for example in the production of bacteria for the dairy or wine industry and the cultivation of plants for consumption. Also in biomedicine, the CRISPR / Cas9 method will undoubtedly play an important role.
In the two girls' genetic material, the molecular receptor was eliminated, allowing the HI virus to enter the cell and infect it.
With the cut of a particular receptor, one tries to reproduce a natural mutation. Thus, those affected should not be able to develop AIDS. Such an intervention would be illegal in Europe without any documentation of the additional effects of the changes introduced.
This procedure is not only ethically objectionable but very risky. Try to prevent an infectious disease with a new method, although there are already protection options.
What is the risk that, during such an intervention, other important genes are also eliminated or damaged?
It is still impossible to estimate the long-term consequences. Since in this case the cutoff occurs simultaneously in many cells and may even vary from one cell to the other, the consequences are even more uncertain. Stem cell manipulation is also illegal in Germany and Europe.
Jan O. Korbel specializes in computer biology, human genetics and genomics. He is a scientist at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg.
(JOV / CP)
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World AIDS Day: alarms are still active
Sea of lights in the form of bow
In Agartala, India, a woman lights candles in memory of the victims on World AIDS Day: the red ribbon is synonymous with solidarity and tolerance for people with the virus that can trigger the disease. AIDS-related immunodeficiency. In India, about 2.1 million infected people are infected, but the vast majority do not know that he is infected.
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World AIDS Day: alarms are still active
Art with message
In Bay of Bengal, the artist Sudarshan Pattnaik invites everyone to fight HIV / AIDS. In India, HIV-positive people receive free medicine, but less than half receive treatment. The remedies are only administered when the patient is also suffering from hepatitis or tuberculosis.
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World AIDS Day: alarms are still active
In Brazil and Mexico, HIV / AIDS does not stop
According to recent estimates of the United Nations program, Brazil is the country with the highest number of new HIV infections in the region. 49% of new infections in Latin America are in Brazil. In Mexico, 13%. Last year, there were 830,000 HIV-positive people in Brazil and 48,000 new infections added. The number of deaths is 14,000.
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World AIDS Day: alarms are still active
With education against HIV
Candles are also lit in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal. According to the National AIDS Center, about 40,000 people are affected in Nepal. Many infected people can not read or write and live in misery. This makes the fight against HIV and AIDS more difficult.
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World AIDS Day: alarms are still active
The danger repressed
The Monument to the Revolution of Mexico City was illuminated on December 1st. Mexico is one of the countries where new infections have increased the most. According to the Malteser International Aid Agency, some 40,000 women are carriers of the virus in Mexico City alone.
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World AIDS Day: alarms are still active
Hope in the investigation
In Germany too, some public buildings are decorated with red ribbon, like the mayor of Hamburg. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), 3,100 people were infected with the HIV virus in Germany in 2016. The number of new infections has remained constant. Experts hope that the price of a new preventive medicine will be more affordable for all.
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World AIDS Day: alarms are still active
Chastity instead of condoms
In Uganda, a poster tries to inform young people that the alleged solution is to abstain from sex. In Kampala, about one in ten people are infected, nearly half of them adolescents. The numbers speak of the failure of calls for forbearance. Prevention that teaches and demystifies the use of condoms is more effective than resorting to chastity.
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World AIDS Day: alarms are still active
Certainty is better than uncertainty
Here in Novosibirsk, everyone can have an anonymous and free test. About one million people in Russia are living with HIV. Many can not afford expensive treatment. In the south of Russia, in the Urals and in Siberia, the situation is dramatic. People who are often infected have tuberculosis or some hepatitis. Author: Stephanie Höppner (jov / vt)
Author: Stephanie Höppner
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