Scientists from sun Yat-sen University announced the world's first modification of the genome of a human embryo. In the published documents it is emphasized that in their research they used a non-viable embryo. The scientists used a technique CRISPR/Cas9 for gene deletion responsible for the development of deadly blood disorder beta-thalassemia.

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Scientists from sun Yat-sen University announced the world's first modification of the genome of a human embryo. In the published documents it is emphasized that in their research they used a non-viable embryo. The scientists used a technique CRISPR/Cas9 for gene deletion responsible for the development of deadly blood disorder beta-thalassemia.

use the technique involves the replacement of "bad" genes on the normal functioning through a complex of enzymes - a kind of analogue of "genetic scissors". It is considered to be well studied, but its use was limited to this time "older" cells.

Chinese scientists have used CRISPR/Cas9 to 86 embryos, some of which have not survived, but half of the 54 remaining was achieved the expected result, reports Popular Science. Genetics are ready to continue their research to improve the efficiency of the method. In the future the technique may be applied during the in vitro fertilization and subsequent embryo transfer into the uterine cavity. There are some ethical questions raised by opponents of the modification of the human genome.