Friday, September 29, 2017

"DNA surgery on embryos removes disease"

Via RedditPrecise "chemical surgery" has been performed on human embryos to remove disease in a world first, Chinese researchers have told the BBC.

The team at Sun Yat-sen University used a technique called base editing to correct a single error out of the three billion "letters" of our genetic code.

They altered lab-made embryos to remove the disease beta-thalassemia. The embryos were not implanted.

The team says the approach may one day treat a range of inherited diseases.

(Link to more)

6 comments:

Amartel said...

Okay, but what else are they (inadvertently) removing at the same time?

edutcher said...

Good point.

ricpic said...

Hey guys, there's NO downside. This is a fantastic scientific advance. It's okay to cheer.

Amartel said...

I'm FOR scientific advances that "remove disease" but suspicious of super-amazing things presented summarily as science-the-end, but I will keep open and hopeful mind.

Leland said...

brave new world

edutcher said...

Let's revisit this in 20 years and see what happened to those "cured" people.

If you remember the old Star Trek, what happened to the Tribbles when they were removed from their predator-filled environment?