Think twice before editing human genes

AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED in Nature Medicine on Monday shows that people carrying two CCR5 genetic mutations are 21 percent more likely to die at a younger age than those without them, which has drawn renewed attention to He Jiankui, who genetically edited human embryos on that gene point and allowed two gene-edited babies to be born last year. China Daily writer Zhang Zhouxiang comments:

He's gene editing was meant to mimic a natural mutation that protects against HIV infection. But according to the results of research by scientists in the United States that mutation is linked to shorter life expectancy.

That's why scientists are usually very cautious when it comes to the editing of human genes. Even in countries such as the US and China where gene-editing of human embryos is legal, there must be ample theoretical research before such an experiment is done, while the embryos should not be allowed to grow for over 14 days after being genetically edited.