Controversial scientist says he’ll use gene editing to end HIV & Alzheimer’s

He Jiankui
Photo: YouTube screenshot

Controversial Chinese scientist He Jiankui was punished when, in November 2018, he claimed to have used CRISPR gene editing technology to create a pair of HIV-resistant newborn twins. He now says he’ll use a different technique, called “base editing,” to prevent Alzheimer’s disease, a degenerative brain disease that affects 55 million people worldwide and can result in dementia and death.

Right now, U.S. law and universal medical ethics state that gene editing should only be used on laboratory animals, in order to test whether the technology might be safe for humans. But if He is successful, his research could create a breakthrough for preventing other incurable diseases.

In November 2018, He announced that his research team had used a gene editing method called CRISPR to alter the sperm cells of HIV-positive men. CRISPR removed mutations in sperm cells’s DNA that cause HIV and inserted a chemical combination that reportedly…

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