Can we test everything in the scientific field? Where are the limits on research on the human genome? The ethical debate on the genetic manipulation ofhuman embryoss for scientific purposes resurfaced after the modification of a defective gene by Chinese researchers.
In the United States, scientific minds are heating up. Those human DNA research are considered too premature by the American Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) which calls for “a voluntary worldwide moratorium on this type of work”.
The controversial publication appeared in the scientific journal Protein and Cell. Junjiu Huang, a geneticist at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, handled dozens of non-viable fertilized embryos that failed to develop.
An article in the specialized journal Nature details the experience of Chinese researchers. These scientists “attempted to modify the gene responsible for beta thalassemia, a potentially fatal blood disease, using a gene editing technique called CRISPR / Cas9,” the journal explains. A corrected version of the defective gene was introduced into 86 embryos. 48 hours later, 71 embryos survived, of which 54 were tested.
A warning for scientists
The results are inconclusive: the new corrected gene only worked on less than a third of the embryos. And many unexpected and potentially dangerous genetic mutations have been observed. For these reasons the Chinese team has decided to stop the current experiment.
The experiment, as innovative as it is, serves as a “warning to those who think the technology is ready to be tested to eradicate disease-carrying genes,” according to George Daley, a biologist at Harvard Medical School. , cited by the journal Nature.
The controversy could revive soon. Four other teams of researchers are reportedly working on the genetic modification of human embryos.
>> To read also: Modifying DNA: a possible reality for better or for worse
