Scientific and public uproar resulted when the Chinese scientist announced the births of the first human babies with heritable edits to their genes. A new documentary reexamines the saga.
He Jiankui is reflected in a glass panel as he works at a computer at a laboratory in on Oct. 10, 2018.
AP/Mark Schiefelbein
The scientist who announced the world’s first genome-edited twins received a prison sentence and a large fine for his research. But the systems that enabled him have not been held to account.
The team used CRISPR on human embryos in a bid to render them resistant to HIV infection. But instead, they generated different mutations, about which we know nothing.
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A number of things may have gone wrong when researchers edited Chinese twins Lulu and Nana’s genome. Either way, the failed experiment is a cautionary tale for us all.
How far will we allow genetic enhancement to go?
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CRISPR technology could have momentous effects if it’s used to edit genes that will be inherited by future generations. Researchers and ethicists continue to weigh appropriate guidelines.
CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology is being used in field from agriculture to medicine to food security and disease control.
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You may not agree with using the gene-editing tool, CRISPR, to alter the DNA of human babies. But what about using it to engineer plants? Or wipe out one of the world’s most dangerous creatures?
Megacity Shenzhen, as seen from Hong Kong, is a center for Chinese finance and tech.
AP Photo/Kin Cheung
Ian Myles, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
The effort to edit the genes of Chinese twins implies that all our traits are determined by our genes. But changing our diet, environment, lifestyle and microbes may have a greater effect.
Editing just one gene in an embryo could create many unanticipated side-effects once the baby is born.
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Genome editing technology has, and will always have, limits. Limits that are related not to the technology itself but to the intrinsic complexity of the human genome.
In a masterfully manipulative Youtube video, He Jiankui tells the world about the first genetically edited babies.
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
To announce the world’s first gene-edited babies, scientist He Jiankui did what movie directors do: release a trailer on YouTube. The video is a positive spin on unauthorized gene editing.
He Jiankui, a Chinese researcher, speaks during the Human Genome Editing Conference in Hong Kong, Nov. 28, 2018. He made his first public comments about his claim of making the world’s first gene-edited babies.
AP Photo/Kin Cheung
Chinese researcher He Jiankui told a spellbound audience how he created gene-edited babies. With a couple of revealing slides, we can see what he did and speculate what health problems might ensue.