Hey there! As we delve deeper into Dr. Jiankui's groundbreaking experiment and its reception in the scientific community, welcome back to our discussion!
The South China Morning Post reported that a professor worked with seven heterosexual couples who wanted to have children. The men were living with HIV, and the women were not. The professor used gene-editing technology called CRISPR-Cas9 to modify the CCR5 gene in embryos created at an IVF clinic. However, it is important to note that responsible research and ethical considerations should always be a priority in such studies.
At the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing in Hong Kong in November 2018, He exhibited his work in a concise and focused manner, racing through approximately 60 slides in just 20 minutes. However, some critics felt that the data presented was not thorough enough to substantiate his claim of safely editing the genomes of the human IVF embryos that resulted in the birth of Lulu and Nana...
At the summit, he mentioned submitting a manuscript describing his work to a scientific journal. Yet, twelve months later, the manuscript remains unpublished and its contents remain mysterious.
He was asked at the summit why he hadn’t posted his manuscript to a preprint server or a public website, and he claimed that he had intended to do so, but colleagues advised him to allow the manuscript to go through peer review. By deciding not to release his manuscript right away, he has made it difficult for other scientists to figure out exactly what he did and how he did it. This has raised questions about the scientific merit and safety of his work in germline gene editing.
But it's not that nobody got to see his work,later scientists got to see his work
Kiran Musunuru had the opportunity to read through Dr.'s manuscript he found answers to many questions on what happened and immediately realized there were problems.
It's important to note that in the case of the gene editing of the embryos, there was evidence of mosaicism present in both Lulu’s and Nana’s embryos, as well as in Lulu’s placenta, indicating potential mosaic traits in the twins. This suggests that some parts of their bodies may contain specific gene edits, while others may not, which could impact the effectiveness of the intended HIV resistance throughout their entire bodies. It's worth considering that the methodology used by the researcher to analyze the embryos may not have captured all potential off-target edits, which could have implications for the health of the twins and their future children. While there are concerns about the handling of this research, it's evident that unintended consequences can arise from gene editing efforts. This case serves as a significant example of the complexities involved in gene editing and the potential long-term impact on human liveslives.
That's the end of this experiment
( not field wise but storyline wise) Dr. Jiankui was sentenced perison for 3 years after his experiment
We'll meet again in next week with amazing facts about Genetic editing