Editing human genes: take your time!
Scientists refused to edit the genes of infants
It is forbidden to change the genes of human embryos intended for normal development during pregnancy. This decision was made following a three-day summit of leading scientists from the UK, USA and China dedicated to editing the human genome, reports Nature News (Gene-editing summit supports some research in human embryos).
Scientists have agreed to develop medical technologies of genetic engineering, the results of which are not transmitted to the next generations. We are talking, for example, about correcting mutations that cause sickle cell anemia, or about modifying immune cells (so that they fight cancer more effectively).
However, editing the so–called germ line – erasing or changing a child's gene before birth (in order to cure him of a hereditary disease and prevent the transmission of diseases to the next generation) - has so far been declared undesirable.
"It would be irresponsible to use germ line editing in clinical practice until the associated safety issues are resolved (...) and until public agreement is reached on the permissibility of this technology," the collective statement at the end of the summit notes.
Nevertheless, the organizing committee did not decide to finally prohibit editing the genes of human embryos and stem cells in basic scientific research (that is, not in medical practice). Such a ban was considered unrealistic: there will always be scientists and entire countries that will violate it, and the scientific community has no opportunity to monitor and punish the violation.
The meeting was held on December 1-3 at the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in Washington. It was attended by representatives of the Royal Scientific Society, the Chinese and American Academies. A new meeting of the international commission is scheduled for 2016, where the problems raised at the American summit will be discussed in more detail.
The debate about the dangers of this technology has been going on since March 2015, when Chinese scientists first modified the genome of human embryos. Junjiu Huang took non-viable embryos obtained from local family planning clinics for experiments. The scientist used the popular CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system to remove from DNA the mutant HBB gene that causes beta-thalassemia, a severe genetic blood disease. However, CRISPR/Cas9 successfully worked in less than 20 percent of cases.
According to the academic community, it is dangerous to edit the genes of embryos, since they transmit the altered DNA to the next generations and the consequences of "editing", invisible at first glance, can cause damage in the future. In addition, an effective gene modification system can fall into the hands of those who use it for deliberately inhumane purposes.
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08.12.2015