Video • Controversial research

HIV and gene editing: beware of the butterfly effect, cautions expert

The claim of a chinese professor has caused quite a controversy: He Jiankui announced that he successfully modified human DNA to prevent two girls from contracting HIV.

Upon the leak of this research, ethicists and scientists alike condemned Jiankui's gene editing in humans. West Virginia University Vice President and Executive Dean for Health Sciences Dr. Clay Marsh says that although “a lot of good promise” could come from gene editing, it is mostly practiced in lab models, not in people. He notes the human body is complicated and everything is so interconnected that changing one thing can lead to a cascade of changing everything.

“If a person is born with a particular gene that makes them at risk for breast cancer or ovarian cancer or other diseases, scientists may be able to identify that susceptibility and get rid of it. The big concern, though, is the butterfly effect – little changes can lead to big outcome differences – and this is editing the basic blueprint of our DNA. This might lead to other editing effects such as deleting certain genes that protect you from cancer or cut out a gene set that might reduce your resistance to infection.”

Recommended article


Source: West Virginia University

30.11.2018

Related articles

Photo

Interview • International research collaboration

The Pan-Cancer project: Cancer development begins within the genes

Launched in 2011, the Pan-Cancer Project, involved more than 1,300 scientists and clinicians in 37 countries, and analysed more than 2,600 genomes of 38 tumour types. Discovery: The first indications…

Photo

News • Cellular recycling

Can autophagy stop cancer before it starts?

Just as plastic tips protect the ends of shoelaces and keep them from fraying when we tie them, molecular tips called telomeres protect the ends of chromosomes and keep them from fusing when cells…

Photo

News • Real-time tumor profiling

AI tool decodes brain cancer’s genome during surgery

Scientists have designed an AI tool that can rapidly decode a brain tumor’s DNA to determine its molecular identity during surgery — critical information that can guide treatment decisions.

Related products

Subscribe to Newsletter