And He Jiankui was ultimately sentenced to three years in jail<\/a> for violating medical regulations.<\/p>\n He Jiankui was sentenced to three years in jail. (AP: Mark Schiefelbein, File)<\/p>\n However, as the dust has settled in the years since, the race to advance gene editing has shown no signs of slowing down, spurred on by starry-eyed Silicon Valley investors, entrepreneurs and even pronatalists<\/a>.<\/p>\n And by April this year, He Jiankui was back \u2014 announcing a new venture aimed at editing human embryos to create people resistant to diseases like Alzheimer’s or cancer.<\/p>\n Months later, his ex-wife Cathy Tie unveiled Manhattan Project \u2014 the first company to publicly announce plans<\/a> to create gene-edited babies, promising to prevent “thousands of diseases”.<\/p>\n But although this science is advancing, it remains deeply controversial.<\/p>\n On the one hand, gene editing heralds hope of a future free from genetic disease.<\/p>\n But on the other, it strikes fear of a spiral into eugenics and so-called “designer babies”.<\/p>\n Like ‘installing a new app’<\/p>\n Gene editing tech first emerged in the 1970s.<\/p>\n It acts like scissors, snipping DNA at certain spots so scientists can erase, add or replace sections.<\/p>\n What is CRSPR gene editing?<\/a><\/p>\n ABC Science’s Bernie Hobbs explains what the gene editing tool CRISPR is and how it works.<\/p>\n “It’s as if you were given a new smartphone and you could never change it,” Australian molecular biologist and genetics expert Merlin Crossley says.<\/p>\n “And then suddenly you had a way of installing a new app.”<\/p>\n In 2009, a revolutionary new editing tool called CRISPR<\/a> burst onto the scene.<\/p>\n Invented by Nobel Prize winners Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna<\/a>, it’s simpler, faster, cheaper and more accurate than older tech.<\/p>\n But this breakthrough stoked fears about “designer babies” \u2014 embryos or fetuses whose genetic make-up has been purposefully selected or altered to achieve “desired” traits.<\/p>\n It sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but there’s been broader movement in this space, in addition to He Jiankui’s twins.<\/p>\n In 2009, a US fertility clinic announced plans to screen embryos for “cosmetic” traits like hair and eye colour, but suspended the service<\/a> shortly afterwards due to backlash.<\/p>\n What was once considered science fiction is now causing real concerns about the creation of designer babies. (Unsplash)<\/p>\n Meanwhile in 2020, the first child was born<\/a> following polygenic embryo screening, which estimates an embryo’s chances of developing complex traits or health conditions influenced by thousands of genetic variations \u2014 not just a single gene.<\/p>\n In the end, Baby Aurea’s embryo was selected, as she had the best odds of avoiding future common diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and schizophrenia.<\/p>\n The company behind this, US-based Genomic Prediction, is not alone.<\/p>\n Several other commercial enterprises<\/a> are cashing in on this space, screening not just for disease but also non-disease traits \u2014 such as height or IQ.<\/p>\n An embryo receives a small dose of Cas9 protein and PCSK9 sgRNA in a sperm injection microscope in a laboratory in Shenzhen. (AP: Mark Schiefelbein)<\/p>\n ‘It has the potential to save trillions of dollars’<\/p>\n While these programs have been met with significant resistance, not everyone thinks this science will be a poisoned chalice.<\/p>\n Julian Savulescu is an Australian philosopher and leading voice on the ethics of emerging technologies \u2014 in particular, new human enhancement and reproduction methods.<\/p>\n He says advances in the genetics space, including gene editing, could revolutionise healthcare \u2014 if done safely.<\/p>\n “It has the potential to save trillions of dollars globally and significantly prolong life and reduce suffering,” he says.<\/p>\n World-first CRISPR gene therapy could ‘transform’ treatment for rare genetic diseases<\/a><\/p>\n Could a gene-editing therapy used to treat a young boy with a rare genetic condition help unlock treatments for others?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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