this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2025
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Science Memes

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Least extreme biophysics phd (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 22 hours ago by fossilesque@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/science_memes@mander.xyz
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[–] I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world 17 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (3 children)

He used CRISPR to make babies immune to HIV.

[–] andros_rex@lemmy.world 20 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) (1 children)

No, he inserted a gene that is associated with resistance to HIV, but is also associated with increased risk of some cancers. He did this without informed consent, he did this without running it by an ethics board, he did this without knowing whether it would work or not.

Let’s stop pretending that he’s a good guy that just magically made HIV immune babies.

Edit: it also didn’t work. The babies have genes both with and without the mutation.

[–] T156@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

We also don't know if it was just that gene that was altered, or if there are other effects. Modern gene editing isn't so precise that we can edit just the gene we want. A lot of genes with similar sequences as the target can also be affected.

It's basically like firing a shotgun at the house they live in. You might hit the one you want, but you may also hit other unrelated genes in the process.