this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2025
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Science Memes

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[–] allo@sh.itjust.works 15 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (13 children)

Just so you all know what his horrible crime was...

"Formally presenting the story at the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) three days later, he said that the twins were born from genetically modified embryos that were made resistant to M-tropic strains of HIV.[48] His team recruited 8 couples consisting each of HIV-positive father and HIV-negative mother through Beijing-based HIV volunteer group called Baihualin China League. During in vitro fertilization, the sperms were cleansed of HIV. Using CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing, they introduced a natural mutation CCR5-Δ32 in gene called CCR5, which would confer resistance to M-tropic HIV infection."

So imagine a couple where one has HIV but they really want to have a baby. He basically made it so their children were hiv free and then immunized them (edited for accuracy). In all my Crispr research, this is the story that most caused me to feel the science system had wronged a good person. Literally Lulu and Nana can grow up healthy now. Science community smashed him, but to the real people he helped he is basically a saint. I love now seeing him again and seeing he still has his ideals. Again, fuck all those science boards and councils that attacked him. Think of the actual real couple that just wants a kid without their liferuining disease. Also I love how he isnt some rightwing nutjob nor greedy capitalist. See his statement about this tech should be free for all people and he will never privately help billionaires etc etc.

anyway, ideals. i recognized them when i first came across him; i recognize them now. I know enough about him that I will savagely defend this guy. He isn't making plagues or whatever. He is helping real people.

[–] Hans@feddit.dk 11 points 1 month ago (2 children)

This is pretty much all incorrect. CRISPR didn't have anything to do with Lulu and Nana not being born with HIV, we have known how HIV-infected men can safely become fathers for years now. The standard practice of "sperm washing" and IVF ensured that, CRISPR was completely unnecessary.^1^ The reason the parents accepted He's plan is because in China, HIV positive fathers are not allowed to do IVF regularly.^2^ Chinese often go abroad to get IVF done, but presumably, these parents couldn't afforded it. Not to talk about how He completely disregarded informed consent, giving them 23 complex pages, barely mentioning that they were doing gene editing, representing the whole thing as a "HIV vaccine"^3^

^1^: https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-blog/2017/june/how-hiv-positive-men-safely-become-fathers

^2^: https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/04/1048829/he-jiankui-prison-free-crispr-babies/

^3^: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6490874/#pbio.3000223.ref008

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[–] Djinn_Indigo@lemm.ee 13 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I think gene theraly is a miracle technology that should absolutely be explored more. The thing is, we're already at a point where we can do it in adults. So doing it on embyros, which can't consent, is simply an uncessasary moral hazard.

That said, I think the doctor here sort of has a point, which is that medical research is sometimes so concerned with doing no harm that it allows harm to happen without trying to treat it.

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[–] SplashJackson@lemmy.ca 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Wasn't he the guy who was trying to find a way for HIV-positive couples to have HIV-negative babies?

[–] Hirom@beehaw.org 12 points 1 month ago

Antiretroviral therapy for pregnant women already is a safe and effective way to avoid HIV transmission to the baby. It's part of standard treatment guidelines https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1701216324003748

So the guy has genetically engineered babies as a potentially risky and certainlycontroversial solution for a problem that already has a safe and non-controversia solution.

[–] jsomae@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)
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[–] bennieandthez@lemmygrad.ml 12 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I think he does it ironically tbh, his posts are all over the place, from making fun of Europe for regulating everything to then saying that gene editing should be regulated by international laws to then saying ethics are holding back humanity, then just saying he loves austin texas, then stating that he will not develop bio weapons lmao.

Stanford cup and CPC flag, he does have a sense of humour tbh.

[–] admin@polished-informally-tortoise.ngrok-free.app 11 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Testing testing. Running an example instance. Please ignore this OP :>

[–] Iheartcheese@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)
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[–] DaddleDew@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Better build a research base on Mars where legal and ethical limitations don't exist. And IDK, start researching teleportation or something.

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[–] KayLeadfoot@fedia.io 8 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I know him!!! He featured heavily in that one Walter Isaacson biography, The Codebreaker. About Dr. Doudna of course.

Did he get his PHD? Well, good on him. I see China has a better anti-recidivism program than the USA has. Last I heard, he was doing hard time in Chinese prison for mad scientist stuff.

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[–] allo@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 month ago (2 children)

my type of guy. And he still does his research to help people even with the public treating him like it does.

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[–] AdolfSchmitler@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

Damn lol. I'd say call an ambulance for the guy but it looks like he's already in a hospital

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