Such technology may pave the way for
modifying human embryos and creating humans without biological parents.
Chinese scientists say they've genetically
modified human embryos for the very first time.
Developmental biologist Kathy Niakan has received permission from U.K. authorities to
modify human embryos using the CRISPR / Cas9 gene - editing technology.
A discussion of the ethics of genetically
modified human embryos had barely started before another ethically fraught application of CRISPR / Cas9 made its debut.
It has been reported that a research group in China has used the CRISPR genome editing technique to
modify human embryos with a specific genetic default.
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 2, 2017 (HealthDay News)-- In a first - ever experiment, geneticists have successfully
modified a human embryo to remove a mutation that causes a life - threatening heart condition.
Not exact matches
But organizers of the International Summit on
Human Gene Editing said editing genes in human embryos was permissible for research purposes, so long as the modified cells would not be implanted to establish a pregn
Human Gene Editing said editing genes in
human embryos was permissible for research purposes, so long as the modified cells would not be implanted to establish a pregn
human embryos was permissible for research purposes, so long as the
modified cells would not be implanted to establish a pregnancy.
He pointed out that the new capabilities to precisely edit the genome has sparked off an intense debate in the USA and elsewhere, since the new precision tools could also be applied to
modifying the genome in
human germ cells or
embryos.
Using abnormally - fertilised
human embryos (I.e. With three sets of DNA instead of two), they have studied whether the a
human gene can be
modified.
But the summit's organizers concluded that actually trying to produce a
human pregnancy from such
modified germ cells or
embryos, either through in vitro fertilization (IVF) with the sperm or eggs or the implantation of an
embryo, is currently «irresponsible» because of ongoing safety concerns and a lack of societal consensus.
In 2016, legislation was passed that prohibits U.S. - based research in which a
human embryo is intentionally created or
modified, the study notes.
Related trials Geneticist Xingxu Huang of ShanghaiTech University in China, for example, is currently seeking permission from his institution's ethics committee to try genetically
modifying discarded
human embryos.
It has given researchers faster or simpler ways to
modify the DNA of crops and animals, conduct biomedical experiments, and, most controversially, genetically engineer
human embryos.
Amid rumors that precision gene - editing techniques have been used to
modify the DNA of
human embryos, researchers have called for a moratorium on the use of the technology in reproductive cells.
Chinese researchers report this week that they have used the CRISPR gene - editing technique to
modify the genome of a
human embryo in an effort to make it resistant to HIV infection.
This summer, scientists working in a U.S. lab announced they'd used CRISPR to
modify viable
human embryos, which were kept alive just a few days.
That report — a world first — fuelled global deliberations over the ethics of
modifying embryos and
human reproductive cells, and led to calls for a moratorium on even such proof - of - principle research.
As a result, he and other researchers have begun genetically
modifying pig
embryos with the hope they will eventually give rise to pigs that contain one or more
human organs — the subject of his feature - length article «Human Organs from Animal Bodies.&r
human organs — the subject of his feature - length article «
Human Organs from Animal Bodies.&r
Human Organs from Animal Bodies.»
In April 2015, a different China - based team announced that they had
modified a gene linked to a blood disease in
human embryos (which were also not viable, and so could not have resulted in a live birth).
«We believe that any attempt to generate genetically
modified humans through the modification of early
embryos needs to be strictly prohibited until we can resolve both ethical and scientific issues,» they write.
He thinks that researchers should work out these kinks in non-
human primates, for example, before continuing to
modify the genomes of
human embryos using techniques such as CRISPR.
The university recently received international attention after a group of 16 scientists based at the Key Laboratory of Gene Engineering published the results of a controversial experiment in which they genetically
modified single - cell
human embryos to repair the
human β - globin (HBB) gene in a procedure aimed at preventing a serious blood disorder (www.sciencemag.org/content/348/6234/486.full).
The FDA released a statement explaining that the congressional ban prohibits the agency from reviewing applications «in which a
human embryo is intentionally created or
modified to include a heritable genetic modification.
While the
human stem cells derived through conventional methods failed to integrate into the
modified embryos, the
human rsPSCs began to develop into early stage tissues.
This concern was also brought to the forefront of the scientific and public consciousness when a report by Chinese scientists described the use of CRISPR - Cas to
modify a gene in
human embryos making them resistant to HIV infection [to learn more about CRISPR - Cas, read our previous blog].
Fredrik Lanner (right) of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and his student Alvaro Plaza Reyes examine a magnified image of an
human embryo that they used to attempt to create genetically
modified healthy
human embryos.