I am going to lead this article, not with the Headline Story, but with some historical items. I wanted to show that this is not a big surprise, as they would like us to believe. The “Scientific” community has no ethical or moral compulsion. They are interested in only two things, FAME, and MONEY. Money to continue their research, and FAME for being first. Because, after all, FIRST is all that matters. There is no glory in anything after that. No one gets a Nobel Prize for being second.
You don’t have to go any farther than the title of this first article, to see that scientists are in a race, a race to revolutionize medicine! You also see, immediately, that the key players in this race are the USA and China.
| Throughout this article, my comments are in green text. Red text is used for highlighting important information within the original article, as is bold text and underline. Everything else is as written in the original articles whose links can be found by clicking the title. Some photos and videos have been added or substituted for videos that were not available to repost. |
The scientific research bankrolled by the Chinese government (keep this in mind, remember that China is a communist, government-controlled society. Everything is under complete scrutiny and control by their government.) could eventually be tapped by agricultural and pharmaceutical companies. Programmes funded by Beijing are, among other things, working on disease-resistant tomatoes, breast cancer treatments and increasing the oil content in soybeans.
Researchers in Guangzhou who received government funds went a step further, sparking an international ethical debate last year after tweaking the genetic makeup of human embryos using CRISPR for the first time.
READ MORE: Chinese scientists genetically modify human embryos for the first time
The genetic editing tool acts like a pair of low-cost and highly precise molecular scissors that can cut out unwanted sections of DNA and insert desired ones.
It has revolutionized what was once a time-consuming, pricey and inaccurate process, and scientists and businesses worldwide are seeking to capitalize on this emerging technique.
The expertise the Chinese groups are developing positions them to eventually challenge US gene-editing companies, some of which have raised millions in venture capital.
“I would rank the US and China as first and second CRISPR-Cas9 research countries, respectively, at this time. Both countries have much strength in this area,” said Paul Knoepfler, an associate professor of cell biology and human anatomy at the UC Davis School of Medicine in California.
“The US currently gets the edge in high-profile papers, CRISPR biotech, and intellectual property. China has published a lot in CRISPR animals.”
The Boston Consulting Group estimated in September that US gene editing companies had attracted more than US$1 billion in investment since 2013. Editas Medicine, Intellia Therapeutics and Poseida Therapeutics are among the US biotech companies researching Crispr to tackle health disorders.
CRISPR has yet to be proven effective in creating new treatments, but pharmaceutical companies worldwide see it as a potent tool. The hope is that it could potentially generate therapies for conditions from cancer to blood diseases.
A Chinese team at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou last year became the first to report Crispr work in human embryos, attempting to edit a gene that causes the blood disorder, thalassemia. The study was at least partly funded by two government-run organizations, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and another called the National Basic Research Programme.
The research caused an international stir, even though the scientists only used “non-viable” human embryos or those obtained through fertility clinics and without any potential for live births. Professor Huang Junjiu, who led the study, declined to comment.
The Chinese researchers said in their findings that CRISPR needs to be better understood and more accurate before being used in human testing. (They have already admitted they are doing human “testing” so this is BS)
While there is still little private investment in gene editing in China, a publicly traded Chinese company called Shenzhen Jinjia Color Printing Group said in a December statement that it would provide 3 million yuan (HK$3.6 million) in funding to the university. The company, which prints cigarette boxes, has identified the health industry as a key area of growth and hopes to eventually share the rights to the CRISPR-based thalassemia treatment technology, it said via e-mail. (So this research is already privately funded by BIG BUSINESS interests)
The US federal government doesn’t fund work that destroys or creates human embryos for research purposes. (THIS IS FLAT OUT BS! Our Government supports the abortion industry and the buying and selling of human fetuses and body parts) The UK’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority gave a group of researchers permission this month to conduct CRISPR research on human embryos, although they still need an ethics committee to approve their plans. (Well, since the UK is behind the US and China in this area they are only trying to “catch up”, which means you can bet the US and China are already actively conducting experiments on human embryos.)
Using CRISPR to cure disease “is probably ethical”, said Eric Hendrickson, a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, whose research uses CRISPR techniques for DNA repair. “To use that technology to make your child run faster or jump higher is uniformly frowned upon. The technology to do that, however, will soon be in place.” (Notice this is the second time this exact phrasing has been placed in this article. Confirmation that this technology has been developed in the lab and they are waiting to release it to the public at their convenience.)
Most of China’s funding for CRISPR research is coming from the government with very few private companies putting money into gene modification work, said Lai Liangxue, deputy director at the Southern China Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. “Whether it’s animal or plant, our country has special funds for this aspect of work.”
READ MORE: Gene editing used by Chinese researchers on human DNA is Science magazine’s breakthrough of 2015
The National Natural Science Foundation of China, a prominent government-backed institution that funds research, awarded more than 23 million yuan last year to at least 42 CRISPR projects, more than double the previous year. (What on earth do you think they are working on to advance their goal of modifying human DNA? That is a LOT OF MONEY, they are not going to waste their time on guinea pigs and monkeys! REMEMBER the goal is to be FIRST!)
It is just one of several government institutions providing Crispr funding in China. China is also aided by a large pool of internationally trained scientists, many of whom have returned home after working overseas. The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology didn’t respond to a fax seeking comment.
Backed partly by grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Lai, the researcher in southern China, has focused on biomedical applications of CRISPR. He has given pigs genes that allow them to contract human diseases (this is a RED FLAG, altering the genes to allow pigs to contract human diseases also opens the door for humans to contract diseases that normally would not pass from pigs to humans! This was put in place by GOD for our protection!) and serve as trial subjects for new treatments, or even act as potential sources of organs for human transplant. (The fact that they are using pig cells, parts, blood and organs in humans makes the risk of humans contracting diseases that normally would have been confined to pigs exponentially higher!)
Lai’s team also snipped a gene that inhibits muscle growth in beagles, enabling the modified dogs to have stronger muscles, run faster and jump higher than normal ones. The same technology could potentially benefit the police and military in the future if applied to canine breeds commonly used by law enforcement agencies, he said. (For sure! Do you want to be chased down by SUPER DOGS? Don’t regular dogs already have a big enough advantage in that area? And what about stray dogs in packs that have inherited the super genes? )
Part of the challenge for Chinese companies will be getting licenses to use CRISPR commercially once there are patents awarded internationally. Several academic institutions in the US and elsewhere have already filed patent applications for CRISPR-Cas9 technology. “Without obtaining licenses from these parties, commercial applications in China or elsewhere will be hampered,” Jin-Soo Kim, a professor with the Centre for Genome Engineering at Seoul National University.
CRISPR has already boosted a new industry in China that supplies genetically edited animals to foreign research labs and pharmaceutical companies. Researchers in the US and China also see its potential in agriculture to potentially create disease-resistant grains or better quality meat. (Now we know what happened to chickens!! In case you had not noticed, over the past 40 years, chickens raised on corporate “farms” have doubled, maybe tripled in size. Ask anyone who works at one of these corporate “farms”, but be sure to be in a secure area when you ask them, or they may not feel comfortable responding.)
Raising a genetically engineered pig with CRISPR technology is already cheaper in China at about 700,000 yuan, while in the US it could cost four or five times as much, said Lai. Labour and other costs are lower in China.
Still, CRISPR-edited animals and crops in China so far remain off the market, he said, as their safety needs to be studied. In agriculture, too, Chinese scientists or their commercial partners will need to negotiate with the holders of the related patents and probably pay a fee to use them.
READ MORE: Britain approves controversial gene-editing technique after Chinese scientists condemned for modifying human embryos
The Iowa-based seed company DuPont Pioneer entered into a licensing pact with Lithuania’s Vilnius University in June, one of the first groups to discover the gene-editing functions of the Cas9 protein.
“If in the future we think they don’t cause any harm to the human body and can indeed increase output, they will be very useful to the development of our country’s agriculture sector,” said Lai, referring to edited animals and crops.
To follow the publicly shared development of this “science” check out these and other related articles:
-
Citation: Astha VL (2016) Human Embryos Genetically Modified: A Review. …. In 2014 Gene of a primate was edited for the first time using CRISPR-cas9 [90] … the genetically modification of human embryos by Chinese scientists [104,105].
-
Apr 23, 2015 … Chinese scientists used the CRISPR-Cas9 editing technique to alter the genome of a “nonviable” human embryo. … Once we gained the ability to modify the DNA of an organism, it was only a matter of time before we turned … was first demonstrated as an editing technique in 2012, scientists have quickly …
-
Jul 26, 2017 … Researchers have demonstrated they can efficiently improve the DNA of human embryos.
-
In April 2015, a research team at Sun Yat-sen University in China published … CRISPR was first identified in bacteria, where it functions as a defense … US scientists urge ban on human genetic modification [cites CGS’ Marcy … we may be genetically engineering human embryos before we have time to decide if we should.
-
Mar 10, 2017 … This marks the first time CRISPR has been used on viable human embryos.
So here is today’s HEADLINE: 2018
WORLD’S FIRST “GENE-EDITED” CHILDREN BORN IN CHINA
https://www.rt.com/news/444872-gene-edited-babies-china/
Twin girls have been born in China after their genes were edited to resist the HIV virus, a first for humankind, a Chinese geneticist claims.
Gene-editing tool advancement during this decade has transformed tailoring human genes from the stuff of science fiction into a practical possibility. (As I stated earlier, they are not advancing by playing with pigs and monkeys, they have been experimenting on human embryos for years. Probably at least as long as abortion has been around.) In 2015, Chinese researchers reported the first successful editing of a human embryo. While cautiously minded people advocated against experimenting in this area until the technology is more mature and humanity settles ethical issues with designer babies, (Scientist have no moral confines. They do not care what society thinks of what they do. They are COMPELLED to test and try whatever their minds can imagine.) a Chinese scientist may have already overseen research that has produced twin girls with edited genomes.
He Jiankui of Shenzhen says the babies are meant to be resistant to the HIV virus after he switched off a certain gene. The work was reported in Chinese medical documents published online. He confirmed that he had conducted such research to the Associated Press ahead of an international genetics conference held in Hong Kong this week. He said his pioneering efforts are meant to blaze a trail for other researchers.
and quietly..very quietly..we reached a tipping point.
“cautiously minded people advocated against experimenting in this area until the technology is more mature and humanity settles ethical issues with designer babies”
but nobody listened..
Chinese scientist claims world’s first gene-edited babies
Chinese Scientist who performed the experiment is interviewed by Scientists in HongKong
TO Watch This Important Video: CLICK HERE
spacer
November 28, 2018
Statement on Claim of First Gene-Edited Babies by Chinese Researcher
NIH is deeply concerned about the work just presented at the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing in Hong Kong by Dr. He Jiankui, who described his effort using CRISPR-Cas9 on human embryos to disable the CCR5 gene. He claims that the two embryos were subsequently implanted, and infant twins have been born. This work represents a deeply disturbing willingness by Dr. He and his team to flout international ethical norms. The project was largely carried out in secret, the medical necessity for inactivation of CCR5 in these infants is utterly unconvincing, the informed consent process appears highly questionable, and the possibility of damaging off-target effects has not been satisfactorily explored. It is profoundly unfortunate that the first apparent application of this powerful technique to the human germline has been carried out so irresponsibly. The need for development of binding international consensus on setting limits for this kind of research, now being debated in Hong Kong, has never been more apparent. Without such limits, the world will face the serious risk of a deluge of similarly ill-considered and unethical projects. Should such epic scientific misadventures proceed, a technology with enormous promise for prevention and treatment of disease will be overshadowed by justifiable public outrage, fear, and disgust.
Lest there be any doubt, and as we have stated previously, NIH does not support the use of gene-editing technologies in human embryos.
Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, National Institutes of Health
Well, all I can say is, what a laugh. As if the “Scientific” community has EVER had any regard for morality or ethics. I believe this was just a stunt to open the floodgates. There is no way to police this technology. And, if the US Scientific community was at all interested in avoiding this technology getting into the wrong hands, they would not have made it freely available. Read the previous sections of this article on CRISPR. Now that this technology is out and available, we can’t stop it any more than we can stop nuclear power. We are going to end up destroying ourselves. That is a fact. Who are they kidding anyway? The people in power (the money people) have already been using this technology without our knowledge or consent for years!
China halts work by team on gene-edited babies
© Associated PressHONG KONG — China’s government ordered a halt Thursday to work by a medical team that claimed to have helped make the world’s first gene-edited babies, as a group of leading scientists declared that it’s still too soon to try to make permanent changes to DNA that can be inherited by future generations. Chinese Vice Minister of Science and Technology Xu Nanping told state broadcaster CCTV that his ministry is strongly opposed to the efforts that reportedly produced twin girls born earlier this month. Xu called the team’s actions illegal and unacceptable and said an investigation had been ordered but made no mention of specific actions taken. (I believe this is all for show. This man did not work alone. He was getting input from US Scientists, as he states in his video, as well as Chinese Scientists, he was funded, the government was fully aware of his work and the results. I am not buying the outrage. I call BS!)Researcher He Jiankui claims to have altered the DNA of the twins to try to make them resistant to infection with the AIDS virus. Mainstream scientists have condemned the experiment, and universities and government groups are investigating.
His experiment “crossed the line of morality and ethics adhered to by the academic community and was shocking and unacceptable,” Xu said. (WHAT?? What morality and ethics?? Seriously, do they think that we are stupid?)
A group of leading scientists gathered in Hong Kong this week for an international conference on gene editing, the ability to rewrite the code of life to try to correct or prevent diseases. (Do not kid yourself, they don’t care about preventing or correcting diseases. They prefer to create them. If you research for yourself, you will find that they have created more diseases than cured. They are in it for the money… They are looking for every possible way to benefit financially from this technology.
follow the money
Click on link to Watch: Gene-editing stocks climb after claims by Chinese researcher (Bloomberg)
Although the science holds promise for helping people already born and studies testing that are underway, a statement issued Thursday by the 14-member conference leaders says it’s irresponsible to try it on eggs, sperm or embryos except in lab research because not enough is known yet about its risks or safety.
The conference was rocked by the Chinese researcher’s claim to have helped make the world’s first gene-edited babies. Conference leaders called for an independent investigation of the claim by He, who spoke to the group Wednesday as international criticism of his claim mounted.
There is no independent confirmation of what He says he did. He was scheduled to speak again at the conference on Thursday, but he left Hong Kong and through a spokesman sent a statement saying “I will remain in China, my home country, and cooperate fully with all inquiries about my work. My raw data will be made available for third-party review.”
Several prominent scientists said the case showed a failure of the field to police itself and the need for stricter principles or regulations. (Just more ways for the elite to CONTROL who gets the money! Regulations will do nothing to protect the masses/absolutely nothing!)
“It’s not unreasonable to expect the scientific community” to follow guidelines, said David Baltimore, a Nobel laureate from California Institute of Technology who led the panel.
There already are some rules that should have prevented what He says he did, said Alta Charo, a University of Wisconsin lawyer and bioethicist and a conference organizer.
“I think the failure was his, not the scientific community,” Charo said. (I say BS!)
Gene editing for reproductive purposes might be considered in the future “but only when there is compelling medical need,” with clear understanding of risks and benefits, and certain other conditions, said Dr. Victor Dzau, president of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, one of the conference sponsors.
Watch:‘Proud’ Chinese geneticist says another baby-gene editing volunteer pregnant (Reuters)
“Not following these guidelines would be an irresponsible act,” he added.
Other sponsors of the three-day conference are the Academy of Sciences of Hong Kong, the Royal Society of the United Kingdom and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and U.S. National Academy Sciences.
The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
‘Proud’ Chinese Geneticist Says Another Baby-Gene Editing Volunteer Is Pregnant’
He Jiankui, an associate professor at Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China, addressed a packed hall of around 700 people attending the Human Genome Editing Summit at the University of Hong Kong. (Ok, wait a minute… So, they already have a Human Genome Editing Summit? And they want us to believe they are not already editing human genomes? What? The first summit was in 2015, the year before the Chinese modified a human embryo? And they state they have made so many advances since then?)
“For this case, I feel proud. I feel proudest,” He said, when challenged by several peers at the conference.
“This study has been submitted to a scientific journal for review,” He said. He did not name the journal and said his university was unaware of his study.
He, who said his work was self-funded, shrugged off concerns that the research was conducted in secrecy, explaining that he had engaged the scientific community over the past three years.
In videos posted online this week, He said he used a gene-editing technology known as CRISPR-Cas9 to alter the embryonic genes of twin girls born this month.
He said gene editing would help protect the girls from infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
But scientists and the Chinese government have denounced the work that He said he carried out, and a hospital linked to his research suggested its ethical approval had been forged.
The conference moderator, Robin Lovell-Badge, said the summit organizers were unaware of the story until it broke this week.
CRISPR-Cas9 is a technology that allows scientists to essentially cut and paste DNA, raising hope of genetic fixes for disease. However, there are concerns about safety and ethics.
The Chinese Society for Cell Biology in a statement on Tuesday strongly condemned any application of gene editing on human embryos for reproductive purposes and said that it was against the law and medical ethics of China.
More than 100 scientists, most in China, said in an open letter on Tuesday the use of CRISPR-Cas9 technology to edit the genes of human embryos was dangerous and unjustified. “Pandora’s box has been opened,” they said.
He’s research focuses on genome sequencing technology, bioinformatics, and genome editing, according to his biography on the summit’s website.
He received his PhD at Rice University in Houston, Texas, and worked as a postdoctoral research fellow in Stephen Quake lab at Stanford University according to the site.
CONTINUED STUDY
He, who said he was against gene enhancement, said eight couples were initially enrolled for his study while one dropped out. The criteria required the father to be HIV positive and the mother to be HIV negative.
David Baltimore, President Emeritus; Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Biology, spoke after He’s speech, saying it was irresponsible to have proceeded until safety issues were in order.
“I don’t think it has been a transparent process. Only found out about it after it happened and the children were born,” he said.
He Jiankui said his results could be used for millions with inherent diseases. He said he would monitor the two newborns for the next 18 years and hoped they would support continued monitoring thereafter.
Shenzhen Harmonicare Medical Holdings Limited (1509.HK), reported by media as being involved in He’s project, sought to distance itself by stating the hospital never participated in any operations relating to the gene-edited babies and no related delivery had taken place.
In a statement published to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday, the group said preliminary investigations indicated the signatures on the application form circulated on the internet are “suspected to have been forged, and no relevant meeting of the Medical Ethics Committee of the hospital, in fact, took place.”
YES, well everyone is “distancing themselves” after the fact, due to the negative press. That is the oldest trick in the book… If you are caught… DENY, DENY, DENY!
Scientists jointly Condemned He Jiankuls’ Gene Immunization Baby
The following excerpts were taken from this article by Rob Stein
…the summit rejected calls for a blanket moratorium on such research, saying that the work could eventually lead to new ways to prevent a long list of serious genetic diseases.
“Making changes in the DNA of embryos could allow parents carrying disease-causing mutation have healthy genetically related children,” said David Baltimore, a Nobel-prize winning U.S. biologist who chaired the summit.
He, of the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China, claims he modified the embryos of the twins with the gene-editing technique CRISPR so that they would be immune to the AIDS virus. His claims remain unproven.
Nevertheless, hundreds of scientists from dozens of countries were engrossed by his claims as they gathered for the three-day summit, which was organized by the Academy of Sciences of Hong Kong, the Royal Society of London, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. National Academy of Medicine.
In the summit’s closing statement released early Thursday, the organizers called for an investigation to verify or refute He’s claims. But regardless of whether it is true, the organizers said the researcher’s experiment was premature, deeply flawed and unethical.
But enough scientific advances have been made since the last summit in 2015 to begin plotting a course for how that could happen someday, according to the statement.
“Progress over the last three years and the discussions at the current summit, … suggest that it is time to define a rigorous, responsible … pathway toward such trials,” said Baltimore, a Nobel-prize winning U.S. biologist.
In doing this, the organizers rejected calls for a moratorium on such research.
Baltimore said “draconian bans would be antithetical to the goals of science,” and unnecessarily hinder the advancement of science. (That is: David Baltimore, a Nobel-prize winning U.S. biologist who chaired the summit.)
But many scientists have now become convinced that it may be ethical someday to edit human embryos to prevent genetic disorders, such as Huntington’s disease, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, and hemophilia. And several scientists have already edited human embryos in their labs to try to determine the safety and effectiveness of the procedure.
“Rather than focusing on criticizing what has happened, we should learn the lessons that it has taught us,” Feng wrote in an email. “There is a lot of potential for using gene editing to alleviate disease suffering, and providing a productive path forward is the best way to ensure that patient’s hopes will get realized.”
In their closing statement, the summit organizers “all but said outright that nothing will get in their way: not laws in dozens of countries or an international treaty, not widespread public and civil society opposition, not deep concern among their own scientific community, and not a grandstanding researcher,”CGS said in a statement.
AND THERE YOU HAVE IT. THE BOTTOM LINE… NOTHING WILL STOP SCIENTISTS FROM PURSUING THEIR GOALS. WHETHER THEY ARE PERCEIVED TO BE MORAL OR ETHICAL. WHETHER THERE ARE LAWS AGAINST THEM OR REGULATIONS TO HINDER THEM. THEY WILL DO WHATEVER THEY WANT TO DO!
Designer Babies – Better All the Time Dec 13, 2018
Playing God with OUR Genes Dec 16, 2019
IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY VIEWED THE OTHER ARTICLES IN THIS SERIES ON CRISPR, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THEM IN ORDER TO GET THE BIGGER PICTURE.
JUST CLICK ON THE LINKS PROVIDED HERE: .
CRISPR GENETIC MANIPULATION THE SPRINGBOARD