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China's CRISPR Twins Might Have Had Their Brains Inadvertently Enhanced (technologyreview.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from MIT Technology Review: The brains of two genetically-edited girls born in China last year may have been changed in ways that enhance cognition and memory, scientists say. The twins, called Lulu and Nana, were modified using CRISPR, a new gene-editing tool, by a Chinese scientific team to make the girls immune to infection by HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Now, new research shows the same genetic alteration introduced into the girls' DNA, to a gene called CCR5, not only makes mice smarter, but also improves human brain recovery after stroke, and could be linked to greater success in school.
"The answer is likely yes, it did affect their brains," says Alcino J. Silva, a neurobiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. Silva's lab lab has been uncovering a major new role for the CCR5 gene in memory formation and the brain's ability to form new connections. "The simplest interpretation is that those mutations will probably have an impact on cognitive function in the twins," says Silva. He says the exact effect on the girls cognition is impossible to predict and "that is why it should not be done." The Chinese designer babies were created to be resistant to HIV. A team in Shenzhen, China, led by Southern University of Science and Technology He Jiankui used the gene-editing tool CRISPR to delete a single gene, called CCR5, from human embryos, some of which were later used to create pregnancies. The virus that causes AIDS requires the CCR5 gene to enter human blood cells. The scientist, He Jiankui of the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China, has been fired from the university as He is under investigation in China. There is no evidence that He actually set out to modify the twins' intelligence.
"The answer is likely yes, it did affect their brains," says Alcino J. Silva, a neurobiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. Silva's lab lab has been uncovering a major new role for the CCR5 gene in memory formation and the brain's ability to form new connections. "The simplest interpretation is that those mutations will probably have an impact on cognitive function in the twins," says Silva. He says the exact effect on the girls cognition is impossible to predict and "that is why it should not be done." The Chinese designer babies were created to be resistant to HIV. A team in Shenzhen, China, led by Southern University of Science and Technology He Jiankui used the gene-editing tool CRISPR to delete a single gene, called CCR5, from human embryos, some of which were later used to create pregnancies. The virus that causes AIDS requires the CCR5 gene to enter human blood cells. The scientist, He Jiankui of the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China, has been fired from the university as He is under investigation in China. There is no evidence that He actually set out to modify the twins' intelligence.
Well, for one thing, HIV resistance has only been useful since the 70s.
Politicians are not stupid. They are disloyal. They seem stupid because they say they want one thing, and then put in plans that don't accomplish that thing. This is malice, not stupidity, at work.
Their public debates don't happen so they can convince each other of a damned thing. They do that to convince the masses to vote for them. Doing this, of course, requires that they make impossible promises. They are perfectly content to let everyone think they are stupid, because it allows them to get away with it.
Wake up, dude.
We do not yet know *every single exact* effect the modification of this gene will do to a human being outside of a lab.
That is the reason why. No data = big problem.
Modern science is inherently cautious... The bonafide "mad scientist" He Jiankui, decided to say "F*** the ethical standards!" and went ahead and made it happen without any standard regulatory oversight.
From what I've seen, various scientific agencies of different countries have been trying hard to keep the CRISPR genie inside the bag... Dr. He Jiankui opened the bag wide open.
CRISPR-edited babies, combined with the massive wealth divides of a class-based society, will further stratify humans into Morlocks and Eloi.
Depends on how it's implemented. This could be a state-run program that provides everyone the same set of enhancements. CRISPR made its mark in biotech for being relatively cheap so it wouldn't even cost all that much. Though given how much push back there is for mandatory vaccines, I imagine GM babies will spur even more conspiracies.