He Jiankui has caught the attention of the world and was at the center of the controversy over the world's first gene-edited babies, an experiment that he now admitted acting too soon.
In 2018, He revealed that he had changed the genomes of twin girls, Lulu and Nana, before birth. Subsequently, the scientist was fired by his university in Shenzhen, sentenced to three years in prison, and widely vilified for carrying out the dangerous, ethically problematic, and medically unnecessary treatment with insufficient permission from the families concerned.
World's First Gene-Edited Babies
BBC News reported He Jiankui presented his work in 2018 at a genome conference in Hong Kong and claimed that he was "proud" of changing the DNA of twin girls to prevent them from contracting HIV.
Unfortunately, He's work has not yet been validated. As a result, many scientists reacted negatively to his announcement. Most nations, including China, prohibit such gene-editing research.
Professor He's university, Shenzhen's Southern University of Science & Technology, said it was unaware of the study initiative and will look into it. Mr. He admitted that the institution was unaware but added that he had sponsored the project privately.
The CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology that he claims to have employed is not new to science, having been discovered in 2012. It works by altering a specific strand of DNA with "molecular scissors," either cutting it out, replacing it, or adjusting it.
Eliminating or modifying problematic coding in embryos through gene-editing techniques might potentially aid in the prevention of heritable illnesses. However, experts are concerned that tampering with an embryo's DNA may affect not just the person but also future generations who will inherit the same mutations.
Other scientists have widely criticized Prof He's new assertions. Hundreds of them signed a letter on social media to express their opposition to it.
Professor Julian Savulescu, an ethics expert from the University of Oxford, told BBC News said that the experiment is monstrous as the technique itself is experimental and is still associated with off-target mutations that could cause harm. He noted that it exposed normal children to the risks of gene editing for no real benefit.
READ ALSO : WHO Says Genetically Modified Babies Still Too Risky, Announces New Guidelines for Human Gene Editing
Is He Sorry for His Experiment?
In December 2019, MIT Technology Review reported that the Chinese government convicted He for deliberately violating medical regulations and "rashly applied gene editing technology to human-assisted reproductive medicine." He was sentenced to three years in prison and was released last year.
He refused to detail his experience but he gave in an interview with The Guardian to talk about his controversial experiment. In one of his first interviews since being out in the public, he said that he has been thinking about what he has done in the past, but he admitted doing it "too quickly."
When asked if he regrets or apologizes for it, he said in the interview that he needs more time to think about that as it is a complicated question. He also denied elaborating on what he thought would have been the right thing he did before proceeding with the gene editing, but he said he will be giving more details in his talk at the University of Oxford next month.
He maintained contact with the family of Lulu and Nana, but he refused to say whether he was still involved in their clinical follow-up or when he last saw them. For now, the twins are living a normal, peaceful, undisturbed life and He urges everyone to respect their privacy.
The scientist is intent on relaunching his scientific career and has set up his own laboratory in Beijing to work on affordable gene therapies targeting rare diseases, like Duchenne muscular dystrophy. He claims to have received funding from charitable donors to rent his space and employ five scientists who will be working with him to conduct animal studies. Also, he plans to use his personal wealth to fund future scientific ventures.
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