Via Reddit: Precise "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.
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:
Okay, but what else are they (inadvertently) removing at the same time?
Good point.
Hey guys, there's NO downside. This is a fantastic scientific advance. It's okay to cheer.
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.
brave new world
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?
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