Chinese scientists genetically modify human embryo

Chinese scientists genetically modify human embryos

In a world first, Chinese scientists have reported editing the genomes of human embryos. The results are published1 in the online journal Protein & Cell and confirm widespread rumours that such experiments had been conducted—rumours that sparked a high-profile debate last month2, 3 about the ethical implications of such work.

In the paper, researchers led by Junjiu Huang, a gene-function researcher at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, tried to head off such concerns by using 'non-viable' embryos, which cannot result in a live birth, that were obtained from local fertility clinics. The team attempted to modify the gene responsible for ?-thalassaemia, a potentially fatal blood disorder, using a gene-editing technique known as CRISPR/Cas9. The researchers say that their results reveal serious obstacles to using the method in medical applications.

"I believe this is the first report of CRISPR/Cas9 applied to human pre-implantation embryos and as such the study is a landmark, as well as a cautionary tale," says George Daley, a stem-cell biologist at Harvard Medical School in Boston. "Their study should be a stern warning to any practitioner who thinks the technology is ready for testing to eradicate disease genes."

Some say that gene editing in embryos could have a bright future because it could eradicate devastating genetic diseases before a baby is born. Others say that such work crosses an ethical line: researchers warned in Nature2 in March that because the genetic changes to embryos, known as germline modification, are heritable, they could have an unpredictable effect on future generations. Researchers have also expressed concerns that any gene-editing research on human embryos could be a slippery slope towards unsafe or unethical uses of the technique.

Full article: http://www.nature.com/news/chinese-sc...etically-modify-human-embryos-1.17378

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Damn, they just don't give a damn. Europe/US is putting in all kind of regulations and they just go with it.

Hope they are not going to open a Pandora box.

think we're all way past opening pandora's box

this is prob a really super unpopular opinion, but i remember reading about the THC, and how there WAS a possibiltiy of creating a mini black hole, and i was just confused, because the best case scenario was finding particles that "confirmed' some big bank stuff or existence of smaller than proton/neutron/electron particles vs creating a mini blackhole.

big dicks for Asians soon

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On April 23 2015 00:58 whamm! wrote: big dicks for Asians soon

there are some things even science can't overcome

^ unreal thread rape going on here hahaha

So at least one country on this planet doesn't give a f*** what church says.

Researchers have also expressed concerns that any gene-editing research on human embryos could be a slippery slope towards unsafe or unethical uses of the technique.

Yeah, and airplanes are capable of hitting buildings, so maybe lets not fly anymore.

Its the future, its a matter of time before we start altering ourselves through DNA manipulation and bionics.

I think that as long as freedoom is kept and that theres no segregation we can explore eugenics carefully

genetically engineering out the morons may be the only way our species survives

The good among our people have pushed medicine to the point that natural selection is dead basically saving the bad genes that would have otherwise been weeded out. From this point if anything the gene pool is getting shittier naturally. Dumber/Poorer/Uglier less competitive people tend to pair up and produce more kids than their genetically superior peers who make reasonable decisions about bringing children into the world, raising a family, and life in general. Dumb fat black bitch with 3 babies daddies spewing out kids to take advantage of government aid would be one example I would present of a sub-par human genetic specimen.

On a less cynical, black, offensive note with our technology and medicine we really have stunted darwin and I don't see how that could possibly be a good thing. For evolution to kick back in on its own some other species is going to have kick our asses or some wildly successful and drastic mutations will have to take place because we aren't selecting our best. Everyone lives to breed for the most part. Parents are going to need to be able to make their kids better than themselves imo.

Chinese scientists making experiments:

On April 23 2015 06:01 MadeInPolanD wrote: So at least one country on this planet doesn't give a f*** what church says.

+1

Church telling politicians telling scientists what they should not research on is a little too far-fetched for my taste.

On April 23 2015 06:49 Baalim wrote: Its the future, its a matter of time before we start altering ourselves through DNA manipulation and bionics.

its between that and AI or possibly a symbiosis of both

On April 23 2015 07:53 traxamillion wrote: genetically engineering out the morons may be the only way our species survives The good among our people have pushed medicine to the point that natural selection is dead basically saving the bad genes that would have otherwise been weeded out. From this point if anything the gene pool is getting shittier naturally. Dumber/Poorer/Uglier less competitive people tend to pair up and produce more kids than their genetically superior peers who make reasonable decisions about bringing children into the world, raising a family, and life in general. Dumb fat black bitch with 3 babies daddies spewing out kids to take advantage of government aid would be one example I would present of a sub-par human genetic specimen. On a less cynical, black, offensive note with our technology and medicine we really have stunted darwin and I don't see how that could possibly be a good thing. For evolution to kick back in on its own some other species is going to have kick our asses or some wildly successful and drastic mutations will have to take place because we aren't selecting our best. Everyone lives to breed for the most part. Parents are going to need to be able to make their kids better than themselves imo.

humans have been devolving since agriculture was invented thou

On April 23 2015 00:26 mnj wrote: think we're all way past opening pandora's box this is prob a really super unpopular opinion, but i remember reading about the THC, and how there WAS a possibiltiy of creating a mini black hole, and i was just confused, because the best case scenario was finding particles that "confirmed' some big bank stuff or existence of smaller than proton/neutron/electron particles vs creating a mini blackhole.

There was never any possibility of this whatsoever, suggestions of such were pure sensationalist nonsense. The LHC stood as much chance of creating a black hole as you do of creating a new star from a matchstick.

if Chinese sprinters start winning 100m gold medals in Olympics 20 years from now, we'll know they have succedded

wow tom, could you be any more racist? congrats on being a douche