Chinese Scientists Edit the Genome of a Human Embryo for the First Time

Imagine being able to modify the genetic code of a person before that person is even born. This is becoming more and more realistic as time goes on. Now, researchers from China have announced that they've managed to edit the gnome of a human embryo in order to try to block a gene that causes a rare blood disease.

The modification of genes and human embryos could potentially be a huge boon to society. In theory, you could prevent genetic diseases before they become a problem. By that same token, though, this could be a slippery slope. In time, so-called "designer babies" could become the norm.

"Inherited genetic conditions often result because the function of a gene is disrupted," said Yalda Jamshidi, Senior Lecturer in Human Genetics at St. George's University Hospital Foundation Trust, in a news release. "In theory replacing the defective gene with a healthy one would be the ideal solution. This type of treatment is what we call gene therapy and researchers have been working on developing techniques to accomplish this for many years."

The Chinese scientists are using a new technology called CRISPR/Cas9 to accomplish their goal. The new technique involves a type of genetic engineering in which DNA is inserted, replaced or removed. The researchers injected 86 embryos in all, and 71 of them survived. Of these, 54 were genetically tested. This revealed that just 28 were successfully spliced, and only a fraction of those contained the replacement genetic material. There were also a number of "off-target" mutations, assumed to be caused by the technique acting in other areas of the genome.

While there's obviously some work to be done on the technique, it does pave the way for future studies. However, there are those who are concerned about the ethics of genetic engineering.

"It makes you ask if humans should be exercising that kind of power," said Jennifer Doudna, a Berkeley biologist who co-discovered CRISPR, in an interview with Business Insider. "If germ line editing is conducted in humans, that is changing human evolution."

The new study concerning the modification of human embryos is published in the journal Protein & Cell.

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