Genetic Modification in humans.

Genetic Modification

IN HUMANS

CHARLOTTE AND ALEXANDRA

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What was the experiment?

He Jiankui is a Chinese biophysicist who, in late November 2018, conducted an experiment on eight couples. Each couple consisted of a HIV-positive man and an uninfected woman. He fertilized the egg in vitro, and then performed the modification.

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What was the gene that codes for it?

He did this by editing the genomes of the embryos using CRISPR/Cas9, which targeted a gene called CCR5. CCR5 is the gene that codes for a protein that uses HIV-1 to enter cells. A specific mutation in the gene, CCR5 Δ32, is a mutation that few people have naturally, and that provides innate resistance to HIV-1.

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What problem was he attempting to solve?

He Jiankiu wanted to perform a surgery that would make people immune to HIV from birth.

The HIV pathogen

Ethical issues

Obviously, this has many ethical issues. In 2019, he was arrested and sentenced to three years of jail and a 3 million yuan fine (£326,109.02) for intentionally violating national regulations on biomedical research and medical ethics, and rashly applying gene-editing technology to human reproductive medicine.

Fun Fact: It is unclear if the parents were informed of what the embryos would be used for!

Thanks

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Who is He Jiakiu?

Visual content is a cross-cutting and universal language, just like music. We are capable of understanding images from millions of years ago, even from other cultures. We don't like to bore. We don't want to be repetitive. We do it differently. We sabotage boredom. We create what the brain likes to consume because it stimulates it.

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Visual content is a cross-cultural and universal language, just like music. We are able to understand images from millions of years ago, even from other cultures. We don't like to bore. We don't want to be repetitive. We do it differently. We sabotage boredom. We create what the brain enjoys consuming because it stimulates it.

LINK

Write a Great Title Here

Visual content is a cross-cultural and universal language, just like music. We are able to understand images from millions of years ago, even from other cultures. We don't like to bore. We don't want to be repetitive. We do it differently. We sabotage boredom. We create what the brain enjoys consuming because it stimulates it.

LINK