In November 2018, the scientific community was appalled when he heard Mr. Ha Kien Khue, a Chinese scientist published after a genetic modification , a female twins were thought to be resistant to the HIV virus. Birth was born.
He may have done it with good intentions, but the truth is that he toyed with two small beings without considering the horrific consequences that might occur. Mr. Xia was placed under house arrest and investigated shortly after by the Chinese government. There are now reports that editing this gene may affect the brain functions of two girls and make them superior abilities.
The brain is superior
Mr. Ha Kien Khue used the CRISPR gene editing tool to modify the twins' DNA and gave these two babies the ability to fight the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that develops AIDS. However, CCR5 genes are related to brain functions. A study in rats showed that replacing CCR5 led to organisms developing awareness and improving memory. This raises doubts about whether these girls may have similar mental advances.
“The answer is probably yes, it affects their brains. The simplest explanation is that these mutations will probably affect the cognitive function of the twins , ” Alcino J. Silva, a University of California neurobiologist, told Express . He added that it is impossible to say how exactly the twins will be affected. Therefore, this test should never be done.
Many people believe that Mr. Xia Jianhui has chosen to modify the CCR5 gene in order to target brain function but to take HIV prevention as an excuse. Some argue that although the Chinese government denies involvement, they are likely to be involved in Mr. Ha's experiment. This allegation is underpinned by the fact that government resources such as the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee and the Ministry of Science and Technology have funded the research of Mr. Ha Kien Khue.
“It's not like he did it alone ... I hope the ongoing investigation will target institutional issues as the crux of the case. If not, it will leave the possibility of a similar scandal going on, ”said Lei Ruipeng, Executive Director of the Biological Ethics Center at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan. a statement in Stat News.
If these two girls grew up to be super smart, parents in China can line up in gene editing service centers to increase their child's chances of success in learning later. This is the same as the "forbidden fruit" that the field of genetic editing has been concerned for so long. Some people are afraid that the Chinese Communist Party government may aspire to use this discovery to experiment on children to turn them into a supreme breed of people loyal to the Chinese state.
Warning against genetic modification
After Mr. Ha Kien Khue's genetic modification scandal, a group of more than 15 leading scientists required strong laws to combat the abuse of genetic modification. This group includes two inventors of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Feng Zhang.
"We call for a global ban on the clinical use of human genetic modification, such as altering genetic DNA in sperm, eggs, or embryos, to create genetically modified babies. With this "global ban", we do not mean a fixed ban ... instead, we call on the establishment of a framework in which countries can make their own decisions. , it is still possible to voluntarily commit not to accept any clinical embryo modification unless specific conditions are met , ”the scientists said in a statement on the Nature page.
Scientists made it clear that they did not call for a ban on embryo editing for research or treatment purposes. Currently, 30 countries around the world have enacted laws prohibiting embryonic editing including directly or indirectly.
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