The common phrase GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) are commonly used to describe food or produce. Most people envision fruits and vegetables created by scientists in white coats in a laboratory surrounded by mysterious chemicals. However, in 2018, Scientist He Jiankui announced that he was the first to genetically modify human babies.
Jiankui’s goal was to make the children of HIV positive fathers resistant to the disease. He did so by using a technique called CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) to change the DNA in the embryos of the children before they were born. Changing one’s genes will therefore change certain characteristics because DNA codes for all of the genes that one is born with. Jiankui’s experiments ended with two live, yet premature (early) births of twin girls Lulu and Nana. While Jiankui’s intentions were to eliminate a disease that about 38 million people currently live with, the ethics of changing the genes of unborn babies are heavily debated. It is this controversy and debate that caused Jiankui to end up in jail in December of 2019 for three years.
He Jiankui announcing his research on genetically modified children to an audience of scientists and doctors.
Image Source: Anthony Wallace
Supporters of the incarceration of Jiankui argue that it was his manipulation in changing the genes that caused the children to be born prematurely. It is their early births that caused them to lose health insurance that was previously promised. The claim is often made that the experiments he conducted are unethical, and that no person should be allowed to manipulate the biological core of what someone is. In doing so, they may be “playing God” without the consent of the unborn children that lead to unknown health effects. Others believe that Jiankui had good intentions and that should protect him from such consequences. He identified a disease that affects many, used groundbreaking technology, and collaborated with some of the best researchers to prevent children from inheriting the disease.
Regardless of Jiankui’s intentions, he is currently serving his time in jail and is to be released soon. With his imminent release and continuation of the ethical debate of genetic modification, the twin girls are growing older. Their growth and maturity, however, is not likely to look like other girls in China. In order to see the effects of Jiankui’s experiment on their health, they will have to be observed and tested by scientists for much, if not most of their lives.
The scientific results from this controversy continue to grow along with Lulu and Nana. The more that is learned from their birth and growth, the more that scientists understand about DNA and genetic modification for humans and other organisms. Future research, regardless of its ethics, will have a stronger and more informed foundation for many different purposes.
Featured Image Source: Giovanni Cancemi
