A Chinese scientist says twin girls were born a few weeks ago with the ability to resist being infected by HIV.
A researcher who claims to have helped create the world’s first genetically edited babies has been placed under investigation by health authorities.
He Jiankui released five videos on Monday saying he had used a gene-editing technology to alter the DNA of embryos for seven couples during fertility treatments, with one woman giving birth this month.
The claim could not be independently verified and was met with scepticism across the scientific community.
Mr He, a researcher at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in the city of Shenzhen, said the woman had given birth to twin girls, known as Lulu and Nana.
The girls had their genes edited so they can resist being infected with HIV, the AIDS virus, said Mr He, who studied at Stanford and Rice universities in the US.
The couples involved in the gene-editing technology, known as CRISPR-Cas9, refused to be identified.
If the claim, first reported by the Associated Press news agency, is found to be true, it would be a profound leap of science and ethics.
US scientist Michael Deem, who was Mr He’s adviser at Rice in Houston, said he worked with him on the controversial project but there has been no independent verification yet, with no peer-reviewed journal published on his claims.
After Mr He posted the videos on YouTube, SUSTech said it had been unaware of the research project and Mr He has been on leave without pay for a number of years and will be until 2021.
The work is a “serious violation of academic ethics and standards”, it said, adding that the research had been carried out outside the university.
Shenzhen’s health and planning commission said they were investigating the claims; if found to be true, it would mean Mr He has broken the law.
Source: Skynews
