Is What He Jiankui Did in Genetically Modifying Twins Really So Wrong?
A Chinese researcher, He Jiankui of China’s Southern University of Science and Technology, stunned and outraged the scientific world when he announced that he had genetically edited a pair of twin girls, on his own and without any official permission. He presented an account of his work at a meeting on genome editing in Hong Kong. He said twins Lulu and Nana were both born healthy and that he was proud of what he had accomplished. Another patient of his was already pregnant with a genetically edited embryo, he added. His stated goal was to help people with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Genome editing, as opposed to genetic engineering or gene therapy, involves permanently changing the DNA in all of a person’s cells. Despite new technology that makes the process more precise and easier to accomplish, scientists are extremely cautious about using it. This is largely due to the risk of unexpected consequences that could affect not only the individual whose genes are altered but his or her descendants as well, for generations to come.
If the claim is proven to be true, it would be the first time a human being had been genetically altered or “edited” using this technology. He’s statement angered and worried other researchers in the field, who criticized him as conducting an experiment on…
