A Chinese scientist who made headlines after claiming he had edited babies genes to resist HIV said the controversial trial is being paused. The trailblazing experiment prompted a global outcry over its ethical limits.
“I must apologize, this result was leaked unexpectedly,” He Jiankui told a Hong Kong medical conference on Wednesday, as cited by AFP.
He said that “the clinical trial was paused due to the current situation.” The scientific world has been abuzz over Hes announcement that he had rewritten the very blueprint of life, saying that ethical standards must be upheld.
READ MORE: Designer baby steps: Worlds first gene-edited children born in China
Last week, He Jiankui claimed that twin girls whose father is HIV positive were born resistant to the virus after he switched off a certain gene.
He chose the HIV virus because it has become a serious problem in China, with between 500,000 and 1.5 million people infected.
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Following Hes revelations, Chinese authorities denounced his work and ordered a probe into his trials. Over a hundred Chinese researchers also signed a statement dubbing the experiment “crazy.” The Southern University of Science and Technology, where He works, distanced itself from him and called the research a “serious violation of academic ethics and norms,” adding that he has been on unpaid leave since February.
Criticism didnt come only from China. Scientists from across the globe lambasted Hes experiment. According to Feng Zhang, a molecular biologist from the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the results of the trials were not “handled in a transparent way.” “This experiment exposes healthy normal children to risks of gene editing for no real necessary benefit,” Julian Savulescu, director of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, UK, said.
However, there were some who defended Hes meddling with the human genome. Bioengineering Professor Michael Deem, who was the scientists adviser when he studied in the US, toldAP that he “absolutely” thinks the participants of the trials were fully aware of the risks involved.
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