A scientist says he altered the genes of two baby girls. How big a line did he just cross?
If genetics researcher He Jiankui has provided an honest account of his new experiment, there are twin baby girls alive in China right now, and He altered and edited their genes.
This news — if proven to be true — is an unprecedented event for our species; an event that is all at once daring, irresponsible, and revolutionary. And at some point in the future, this event could be the means of staving off afflictions like cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.
He revealed the successful birth of the twins to the Associated Press on Monday and again at a conference on Wednesday. He used a powerful but still new gene-editing tool, known as CRISPR, to rewrite a portion of the girls' DNA. Specifically, He altered a gene to make the cells more resistant to the HIV virus. On the surface, this is a laudable goal. But scientists emphasize that altering human DNA is still too new a technology, and with it may come unforeseen, permanent risks to the human body. Read more...
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