Chinese scientist He Jiankui says he and his team used the CRISPR-Cas9 genetic editing program to remove the gene from the zygote which scientists believe allows the HIV virus to infect the body.
He Jiankui has made the claim in Hong Kong, one day ahead of an international conference on gene editing that is scheduled to run from Tuesday to Thursday.
However, the claims have not been published in a scientific journal, as is traditional when any successful research is completed.
The reported breakthrough has sparked controversy, with concerns being raised about the security, legality, morality and ethics behind gene-editing.
The verasity of the reported breakthrough is also being questioned.
The Southern University of Science and Technology where He Jiankui used to work as a deputy professor in the Biology Department has declared that they have no knowledge of He’s study, suggesting it is a serious violation of academic ethics and norms.
The university says He has been on unpaid leave from February, 2018 to January, 2021.
An official with local medical ethics committee with the Health and Family Planning Commission in Shenzhen has told the Beijing News that verification of He Jiankui’s claims are underway.
The revelation has also set off a major debate within the academic field. Some scientists are condemning this type of “experiment on human beings,” while others, including one famed geneticist, Harvard University’s George Church, have stepped up to defend the gene editing for HIV, calling it “justifiable.”
