Its not the usual way that reputable scientists announce their breakthroughs to the world, but on Monday, Jiankui He released a video proclaiming that he had produced the worlds first human babies whose genomes were edited using the powerful technique called CRISPR. He had also previously spoken with the Associated Press about his study, which he says resulted in twin girls born with the first genomes edited by man.

The report was met with instant concern and skepticism by the scientific community. Hes experiment altered the genomes of embryos produced through IVF; their genetic changes will therefore be passed on to any future generations. Whats more, most experts in CRISPR are not convinced that the technology is ready or safe for treating humans.

Given the current early state of genome editing technology, Im in favor of a moratorium on implantation of edited embryos until we have come up with a thoughtful set of safety requirements first, Feng Zhang, one of the co-discoverers of CRISPR and from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, said in a statement responding to the report. Not only do I see this as risky, but I am also deeply concerned about the lack of transparency surrounding this trial.

In 2015, prominent members of the scientific community familiar with the technology, including Zhang and another co-discoverer, Jennifer Doudna from University of California, Berkeley, agreed to voluntarily stop research on using CRISPR in human embryos because the safety and long term consequences of the technology were too uncertain. The researchers support studies in which CRISPR is used to develop treatments that would affect cells that arent passed on to the next generation i.e. anything except egg and sperm but say that more research is needed before CRISPR is used to make changes in genomes that can be carried by generation after generation.

While editing the DNA of a human embryo is not currently allowed in the U.S., in 2017, an international committee of the National Academy of Sciences called for loosening the moratorium and allowing trials of CRISPR in human embryos, under strict oversight, to treat rare genetic diseases that cant be addressed in any other way. In the U.K., officials approved studies of CRISPR in human embryos in 2016, but those embryos will not be transplanted to create a pregnancy. Those trials call for destroying the embryos after a week, since the technologys safety remains unclear.

He, on the other hand, has apparently jumped ahead to producing the first human babies born with CRISPR editing. He is on the faculty of Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen China, but in a statement released in response to Hes videos, the university said he is on unpaid leave from February 2018 to January 2021; officials did not provide a reason for the leave.

The University was deeply shocked by this event and has taken immediate action to reach Dr. Jiankui He for clarification, the officials said in the statement. The research was conducted outside of the campus and was not reported to the University nor the Department [to which He belongs]. The statement went on to note that the university believes that Dr. Jiankui Hes conduct in utilizing CRISPR/Cas9 to edit human embryos has seriously violated academic ethics and codes of conduct The University will call for international experts to form an independent committee to investigate this incident, and to release the results to the public.

CRISPR, first described in 2012, gives scientists the most precise and effective way to edit the human genome by snipping out offending mutations or genes and either allowing the genome to repair itself or providing researchers with the ability to insert new genetic material to correct disease genes. But studies suggest that controlling CRISPR in human cells remains a challenge; in some cases CRISPR may cut unintended parts of the genome.

In his promotional video, He describes targeting the CCR5 gene, which helps the HIV virus enter healthy human cells. He worked with seven heterosexual couples in which the male partner was HIV positive and the women were HIV negative. After the couples produced embryos through IVF, he used CRISPR to cut the CCR5 gene, disabling it in the hopes of making the embryos less vulnerable to HIV infection. He claims that of 22 embryos, 16 showed signs of successful CRISPR editing, and 11 were implanted, resulting in a single pregnancy with twin girls who were born in November. One twin, according to Hes tests, showed signs that both copies of the CCR5 gene it inherited (one from its mother and one from its father) were successfully altered, while the other twin showed that one version of the gene it inherited was altered.

That so-called mosaicism, in which some but not all of the embryos cells are altered, is troubling since in this case, it would mean that girl may not be entirely protected from HIV infection like her sister. Thats one of the reasons why researchers are concerned about the report. Normally such scientific milestones are reported in scientific journals complete with detailed descriptions of how the researcher accomplished the feat along with data supporting their claims. Without such documentation, its impossible to verify whether the girls indeed showed successful CRISPR editing or not.

He, who created two companies based on his studies, is scheduled to present his findings at the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing, and will certainly be the target of numerous questions from the leading gene-editing scientists in attendance.

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