A Chinese scientist announced late last night that he has created the first pair of genetically edited twins, altering their DNA to protect them from being infected by HIV.
He Jiankui of Shenzhen told the Associated Press that he edited embryos for seven couples, and that one resulted in a pregnancy. The twin girls were born this month, and He said their parents did not want to interviewed.
“Two beautiful little Chinese girls name Lulu and Nana came crying into the world as healthy as any other babies a few weeks ago,” He says in a video posted online. “The babies are home now with their mom Grace and their dad Mark.”
He’s claims haven’t been published in a medical journal or been independently confirmed. The twins’ father had HIV, but had not passed it on because he was taking medication to suppress the virus from turning into AIDS. The DNA change was intended to prevent a future infection for the girls, by disabling a gene that allows HIV to enter a cell.
He said he used a gene editing tool known as “CRISPR,” which allows scientists to either add a gene that is needed or disable a gene that is causing problems. It’s been tried in adults but editing sperm and eggs is considered different because the changes can be inherited.
The type of gene editing in embryos is banned in the U.S., except for during lab research, because it can impact future generations and risk harming other genes. China has banned cloning but not gene editing.
