However, if genetic edits are made to embryos, or to egg or sperm cells, these changes will be inherited by all future generations.
This is perhaps one of the greatest ethical concerns of gene editing of embryos, eggs, or sperm: any edits will have a ripple effect and will be passed down to generation after generation..
The ethical questions surrounding gene therapy and genome editing include: How can “good” and “bad” uses of these technologies be distinguished? Who decides which traits are normal and which constitute a disability or disorder? Will the high costs of gene therapy make it available only to the wealthy?.
He Jiankui has been criticized for exposing Lulu and Nana to unreasonable risks of harm.
For example, Raposo explains that because 'gene editing was incomplete in at least one of the babies (…) some issues for the children's future health may [have] resulted from the outcomes of this procedure'..
[It] has since been widely reported that Dr.
He conducted clinical studies involving germline editing of human embryos, resulting in several pregnancies and two alleged live births.
This was most likely in violation of accepted bioethical international norms and local regulations..
He Jiankui announced nearly five years ago that he had created the first gene-edited babies, twin girls named Lulu and Nana.
The news sent shockwaves around the world.
There were accusations that the biophysicist had grossly violated medical ethics; some critics compared him to Dr.
Frankenstein..
Using CRISPR technology to immunise the babies against the HIV virus, He Jiankui managed to disable the CCR5 gene that enables the HIV infection (although he still did not present complete evidence of this achievement)..
He said his experiment sought to produce humans who, because they had the 32-base-pair deletion that led to a non-functional CCR5 protein, could not contract AIDS..
A significant breakthrough in understanding the biological function of CRISPR loci occurred with the discovery of Francisco Mojica of the University of Alicante (Spain), who came across similar structures in the archaeal genome of Haloferax mediterranei in 1995 [4]..
Jennifer Doudna, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Feng Zhang, co-inventors of CRISPR/Cas9, are today the faces everyone associates with the gene editing tool.
But the one who discovered the mechanism at the core of the tool and who gave CRISPR its name is Francis Mojica, a Professor at the University of Alicante, Spain..
He Jiankui announced nearly five years ago that he had created the first gene-edited babies, twin girls named Lulu and Nana.
The news sent shockwaves around the world.
There were accusations that the biophysicist had grossly violated medical ethics; some critics compared him to Dr.
Frankenstein..
For instance, there is a chance that genetic alterations could have unintended consequences or that parents may not be able to control which traits their child inherits.
Some people believe that designer babies are morally wrong because they involve manipulating the genes of a human embryo..
In late November, the world learned that He Jiankui, an associate professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China, had edited human embryos, at least two of which were brought to term through an in vitro fertilization (IVF) pregnancy.
He Jiankui announced nearly five years ago that he had created the first gene-edited babies, twin girls named Lulu and Nana.
The news sent shockwaves around the world.
There were accusations that the biophysicist had grossly violated medical ethics; some critics compared him to Dr.
Frankenstein.
And he paid a price.
The Academic Committee of the Department of Biology considers that Associate Professor He Jiankui's use of gene editing technology for human embryo research is a serious violation of academic ethics and academic standards.
By Matthew Chun He Jiankui — a high-profile Chinese scientist convictedfor conducting unethical gene-editing experiments — has been released from prisonand is currently fundraisingfor his new gene therapy endeavor.
2018 scientific and bioethical controversy
2018 scientific and bioethical controversy
