Recently, a news has pushed Shenzhen to the cusp of world public opinion: the news that the world’s first genetic editing baby was born in China by the deputy professor He Jiankui, who has been suspended from work at Southern University of Science and Technology, has caused great controversy.
The organizer of the experiment is Shenzhen Hemei Women's and Pediatric Hospital. The funds or materials of the project come from the free innovation project of science and technology innovation under the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee. Shenzhen and the Women's and Children's Hospital are the "Putian Department" hospitals. As a result, the image of unscrupulous scientists with the "Putian" hospital has triggered the spit of the majority of netizens. Why is this "genetic editing" causing such a huge controversy internationally? Is this research a major advancement in human history or an impulsive scientific accident? Hols will explain one by one.
He Jiankui studied the purpose of "gene editing baby" and the significance of the experiment.
Upon inquiry, the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee will hold an application and publicity for the “Basic Research Free Exploration Project†every year. In the research goal column, He Jiankui stated that “AIDS-induced AIDS is a major medical problem that threatens all human beings in the world today, affecting the safety and health of all human beings. So far, no effective drugs or clinical techniques can be completely Healing AIDS. Fortunately, governments and scientists around the world have invested a lot of energy in HIV prevention and post-infection interventions, but they are far from WHO's 2020 HIV prevention goals and have a long way to go to eliminate HIV. The only case in the world has been recognized as a complete cure. The HIV-infected person was a “Berlin patient†who developed leukemia and was HIV-positive before the bone marrow stem cell transplant. German doctors used a mutation in the Western European population that was resistant to HIV-1 – with a CCR5 mutation. The bone marrow matching creative treatment of the patient's leukemia, and to date, the 'Berlin patient' has not detected HIV in the body, creating a new medical model for the elimination of HIV. This experiment is in cell lines, animal experiments and On the basis of human waste embryos, recruit HIV-positive patients who are suffering from infertility. Inform the volunteers of the risks and benefits through sufficient informed consent, and sign the informed consent form through one-on-one interviews; submit to the ethics committee of the cooperative hospital for discussion and design through experiments. Edit the human embryos through the CCR5 gene and obtain the perfect experimental system. Avoid HIV-healthy children and provide new insights into the future elimination of major genetic diseases in early human embryos."
Let's take a closer look at the purpose of this research. There are several loopholes in it:
1. The meaning of the experiment. The purpose is: "German doctors have used a mutation in the Western European population that is resistant to HIV-1...editing human embryos through the CCR5 gene." He Jiankui's experiment is to cut off the CCR5 gene in human genes. The segment prevents ADIS from infecting the receptor.
1 In the early days, "knockout of the CCR5 gene to fight the HIV virus" has been confirmed in other experimental models such as cells and mice, but it is impossible for the body to actively infect HIV and then conduct experiments. Therefore, He Jiankui’s experiment has no meaning at all.
2 This experiment uses healthy embryos, which is not a gene therapy at all, nor is it the hope of giving birth to a unique progeny to HIV-infected patients. It turns out that HIV-infected people, both men and women, have a way to make births without healthy offspring without HIV.
2. Experimental compliance. The purpose is: "Created a new medical model for the elimination of HIV. This test is based on cell lines, animal experiments and human waste embryos... signed informed consent; and submitted to the cooperative hospital ethics committee for discussion and Designed by experiment."
1 First, this ethical application is very sloppy. According to the date provided, the experiment has been going on for a long time before the ethical application is approved. Secondly, the ethical review is carried out in accordance with the standards of the “scientific research projectâ€, and this experiment is not just a pure scientific research project, so the standard of the review is also problematic; finally, the medical ethics committee of Shenzhen and the Women and Children's Hospital has not reached the approval. The level of such experiments does not have scientific rigor.
2 He Jiankui’s research is against ethics. Article 6 of the Ethical Guiding Principles for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research clearly states that the following behavioral norms must be observed for human embryonic stem cell research:
(1) The blastocyst obtained by in vitro fertilization, somatic cell nuclear transfer, parthenogenesis or genetic modification shall not be cultured for more than 14 days from the time of fertilization or nuclear transfer.
(2) The human blastocyst obtained in the preceding paragraph may not be implanted into the reproductive system of a human or any other animal.
3. The rigor of the experiment. Scientists say that genetic modification is not 100% controllable. Although this CCR5 gene is missing, although it can resist HIV infection, we cannot guarantee that in the future, surviving genetically modified infants will not be affected by other diseases.
1 There have been studies to prove that the knockout of CCR5 gene will cause the immune level to decline, which may cause the fetus itself to infect other viruses, and may also affect the nervous system and cardiovascular system.
2 If a gene-deficient baby grows up and breeds offspring, whether the genes carried by the offspring will change or other mutations are uncontrollable. And artificially changing the human genes, there is a big controversy about such behavior.
The “Gene Editing Baby†experiment spans the restricted area of ​​the scientific community and cannot escape ethical questioning.
Gene editing for human germ cells is a forbidden zone in the scientific community. Just as cloning technology cannot be applied to human beings, there is an ethical red line in all countries that cannot be arbitrarily crossed.
There have been successful genetic editing cases before, and Chinese scientists have successfully modified the Mediterranean anemia gene. The "Gene Editing Baby" experiment is completely different from the Mediterranean anemia gene. Carrying a Mediterranean-type anemia gene will make the baby sick, change it to a normal gene, and avoid the disease. This time, the normal gene is modified. Carrying the gene does not make people get AIDS. AIDS is caused by acquired behavior, not born. Removing the gene instead of giving the baby a certain immune deficiency is inhuman. This experiment is not directed at major fatal diseases and does not require testing in this way.
Although genetic editing can achieve positive effects such as avoiding the birth of defective babies and improving human health, it also poses challenges to life and personal dignity. Some experts suggest that the regulatory authorities should be clearly defined according to the different types of applications of the technology, and the technical specifications of the operational links should be improved.
The history of human evolution has always been a history of reducing the difficulty of survival and the moral bottom line. In the United States more than a decade ago, in fact, genetic editing technology has been mastered. In the face of ethics, the United States does not dare to choose to experiment on human bodies. If He Jiankui’s experiment proves feasible and has no adverse effects, it is a boon for AIDS prevention. As for whether there will be a follow-up cancer gene editing project, the longevity gene editing project... will lead to changes in human ecology and social structure, ethics and institutions. This is indeed a reality that needs to be verified and gradually released in policy and institutional review. of.
For He Jiankui's "gene editing baby" Chinese and foreign scientists are unanimously opposed. There are already 122 scientists in China who have jointly condemned this attempt to make any attempt to edit heritable human embryonic genes without strict ethical and safety review at this stage. Such experiments have dealt a huge blow to China's biomedical reputation. International bioethics scholars approve genetic editing of baby experiments: threatening the future and damaging China's reputation.
Some scholars believe that the "genetic editing baby" incident is a commercial marketing drama.
According to the latest news, He Jiankui, in addition to the identity of an associate professor at Southern University of Science and Technology, has another identity, the founder and chairman of Shenzhen Bohai Gene.
In the upstream of the gene sequencing industry, which is basically monopolized by foreign companies, Bohai Gene is a rare Chinese company. It is said that it successfully developed the first third-generation single-molecule gene sequencer prototype in Asia in 2017. In April 2018, Bohai Gene completed the A$218 million Series A financing, which attracted the attention of the industry.
According to He Jiankui’s public statement, since investors believe that He Jiankui is a university professor and part-time entrepreneur, it is difficult to get investment. In the first four years of the company’s establishment, there was no sales income, and two of them were close to bankruptcy, benefiting from the support of venture capital. keep on. He Jiankui announced that "the first genetic editing baby birth message" just chose the first day of the conference, which is a very obvious commercial atmosphere.
Therefore, regardless of whether He Jiankui’s experiment is based on the benefit of human beings or commercial financing, his behavior is ethical.
Hols believes that genetic editing involves a lot of commercial interests, and that by editing genes, new humans feel very attractive and may bring new crimes. Therefore, the state should also strengthen relevant regulatory work, and science should also need to control and standardize scientific research.
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