‘Monstrous’ creation of the genetically modified babies

SCIENTISTS have condemned a ‘monstrous’ experiment that is said to have created the world’s first genetically edited babies in China.

Dr He Jiankui said he made twins incapable of being infected by HIV by disabling the CCR5 gene that allows the virus to get into human cells.

He claims to have done this in two girls, named Nana and Lulu, who were born in China a few weeks ago, although the research has not been published or independently verified.

Doing this in living babies is illegal in many countries, and scientists and ethicists accused the researcher of ‘highly irresponsible, unethical and dangerous’ science, akin to ‘genetic Russian roulette’.

People without the CCR5 gene may be protected from HIV but are at greater risk from other viruses, including hepatitis B and the West Nile virus, as well as dying of flu.

Experts say gene editing also puts babies in greater danger of severe birth defects and cancer.

Dr He, from Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, had recruited HIVpositive men and their partners for fertility treatment, offering to protect their children from the virus. The chances of a father passing on HIV are close to zero when the mother is not infected.

The experiment, revealed yesterday before an international gene editing conference in Hong Kong, was described as ‘monstrous’ by Professor Julian Savulescu, director of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford.

He said: ‘It contravenes decades of ethical consensus and guidelines on the protection of human participants in research.

‘These healthy babies are being used as genetic guinea pigs. This is genetic Russian roulette.’

Dr He defended his work, saying: ‘There will be no question about the morality of gene surgery in 20 to 30 years.’ However, the university where he works said it was ‘deeply shocked’ by the conduct of Dr He, who has been on unpaid leave since February and will continue to be until January 2021.

It added that an independent committee of international experts would be formed to investigate his work.