Deranged Rhino Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 This has a high chance of ending badly... but it could get pretty entertaining. 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, 3about 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 β-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." http://www.nature.com/news/chinese-scientists-genetically-modify-human-embryos-1.17378 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Obviously... http://www.womansday.com/life/news/a50374/unidentified-alien-like-creature-found-in-chinese-bay/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deranged Rhino Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 Stories like these really make my job much easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unbillievable Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Someday, we will have vaccines to prevent people from becoming serial killers, pedophiles, homosexuals, and communists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deranged Rhino Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 Someday, we will have vaccines to prevent people from becoming serial killers, pedophiles, homosexuals, and communists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Someday, we will have vaccines to prevent people from becoming serial killers, pedophiles, homosexuals, and communists. And democrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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