शुक्रवार, 30 नवंबर 2018

Climate change is already here, and heat waves are having the biggest effect, report says(HINDI )



अनुमानों और अटकलों के दौर से निकलके अब जलवायु परिवर्तन ने एक स्थाई चोला पहन लिया है। अब यह पैरहन भी तार -तार हो चला है। चलिए कुछ विज्ञान की प्रामाणिक पत्रिकाओं में प्रकाशित हालिया रिपोर्ट के आलोक में अपनी बात कहने का प्रयास करते हैं :

जलवायु परिवर्तन के प्रभाव न सिर्फ हमारी सेहत को ही अपना निशाना बना रहे हैं चौतरफा उत्पादकता ,खाद्यान्नों की आपूर्ति पृथ्वी की सतह के बढ़ते तापमानों का ग्रास बन रही है। बे -इंतहा गर्मी का खमियाज़ा दुनियाभर के बुजुर्गों को ज्यादा भुगतना पड़  रहा है।योरोप में ऐसे ही  उम्रदराज़ लोगों का ४२  फीसद ,पूरबी मेडिटरेनियन क्षेत्र का ४३ फीसद ,३८ फीसद अफ्रिका और ३४फीसद एशिया में बढ़ते तापमानों की लपेट में आया है। बे -हद की गर्मी और बे -इंतहा की  सर्दी ६५ से पार के लोगों पर भारी पड़ती है। 

हाल फिलाल ही में संयुक्त राष्ट्र संघ ने बतलाया कि २०१७ में भूमंडलीय स्तर पर कार्बन उतसर्जन (Carbon Emission ) सर्वाधिक स्तर को छू गया था। जन सेहत पर इसके दुष्प्रभावों के फलस्वरूप काम के घंटे कम होने से उत्पादकता गिरी है ,प्रति एकड़ प्राप्ति फसलों की कमतर हुई है ,मच्छरों से पैदा होने वाले रोगों में इज़ाफ़ा हो रहा है फिर चाहे वह ज़ीका वायरस हो या चिकिनगुनिया हो या फिर डेंगू। 

२०१७ में एक तरफ पंद्रह करोड़ सत्तर लाख लोग 'लू' या फिर 'हीट- वेव 'की चपेट में आये दूसरी तरफ गर्मी से प्रभावन बेहद गर्मी से आज़िज़ आने की वजह से काम के घंटों में भी पंद्रह अरब तीस करोड़ कार्य घंटों की गिरावट दर्ज़ हुई। 

किलनी (Ticks ,आठ टांगों वाला एक कीट जो  पशुओं और मनुष्यों के खून पर ही पलता है ),मच्छर और खून पीने वाले पिस्सुओं से पैदा होने वाले  रोगों में संयुक्त राज्य अमरीका में होने वाली बढ़ोतरी की वजह देर तक बनी रहने वाली 'हीट -वेव' ही बनी है। 

इसीलिए यूएसए में वेक्टर बोर्न 'लीमे डिजीज' (lyme disease ),'वेस्ट नील वायरस' के मामलों में २००४ -२०१६ के  बीच भारी वृद्धि दर्ज़ की गई। 

रिपोर्ट के गहन विश्लेषण से साफ़ हुआ है कि सेहत से सीधे जुडी हुई है जलवायु परिवर्तन की नव्ज़ ,रोग शमन  के लिए अपनाये गए  उपाय गैर -कारगर इसीलिए सिद्ध हो रहे हैं ,हमारी रोग शमन क्षमता  भी इसीलिए गिरी है। 

भविष्य के लिए भी आसार अच्छे नहीं हैं। 

सुधारात्मक उपाय जलवायु के ढाँचे को टूटने से बचाने वाले  नाकाफी सिद्ध हुए हैं  :

बेशक (२०१६-१७ )के दरमियान पुनर्प्रयोज्य ऊर्जा से जुड़े काम धंधों में ५. ७ फीसद लोगों को नया काम मिला है  लेकिन यह ऊँट के मुंह में जीरा साबित हो रहा है। 

पेरिस जलवायु परिवर्तन रोधी समझौता :पूर्व उद्योगिक वक्त के तापमानों में महज़ १. ५ सेल्सियस वृद्धि की इज़ाज़त देता है। क्या आपको लगता है हम इस लक्ष्य के आसपास भी हैं ?

परिवहन  क्षेत्र में कोयले की खपत को २०४० तक घटा कर २०१० की खपत के भी  २० फीसद तक ले आना कोई खाला जी का घर नहीं है। बहुत बड़ा लक्ष्य है यह आसान काम नहीं है। 

२०१८ का साल दुनिया भर में बेहद गर्म रहा है खासकर योरोप की लम्बाती गर्मी 'हीट- वेव' के लिए जलवायु परिवर्तन की ओर  ही ऊँगली उठी  है। अमरीकियों की सेहत पर भाई भारी पड़ी है जलवायु परिवर्तन की आफत। 

रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक़ (१९८६ -२०१७ )की अवधि में दुनिया  भर के लोगों को तापमानों में ०. ८ सेल्सियस की बढ़ोतरी का सामना करना पड़ा है। 

भू -सतह  के तापमान में भी ०. ३ सेल्सियस की वृद्धि दर्ज़ हुई इसी  दरमियान। 

अभी नहीं तो कभी नहीं जैसी स्थिति है हमारे सामने तभी शती  के बीतते न बीतते लाखों -लाख लोगों को असमय काल -कवलित होने से बचाया जा सकेगा। 

बात साफ़ है तापमान में थोड़ी सी  भी बढ़ोतरी और बरसात में होने वाली थोड़ी सी  भी घटबढ़ वेक्टर बोर्न डेंगू ,चिकिनगुनिया ,और ज़ीका वायरस के फैलाव को पंख लगा देगी। 

१९५० के बाद से अब तक डेंगू के प्रसार में ७. ८ फीसद की बढ़ोतरी की पुष्टि तो आंकड़े ही कर चुके हैं। २०१६ में इसके अधिकतम मामले दर्ज़ हुए हैं। 

फिर से लौट सकता है हैज़ा (कॉलरा जीवाणु विब्रियो )

(१९८० -२०१० )के दरमियान ऐसे अमरिकी तटीय इलाकों में २७ फीसद की वृद्धि हुई है जिन्हें  कॉलरा (cholera )संक्रमण फैलाने के लिए अरक्षित समझा जा रहा है। आसानी से चपेट में आ सकता है इत्ता बड़ा इलाका हैज़ा जैसी बीमारी के। 

चौतरफा  प्रदूषण से होने वाली असामयिक मौतों ,बालकों में शिनाख्त हुई बढ़ती डायबिटीज की चर्चा हम पहले भी कर चुके हैं।

अभी तो केलिफोर्निया राज्य में ज़ारी चले आये दावानल के सेहत पर पड़ने वाले दुष्प्रभावों  का आकलन होना बाकी है। 

जान ना ज़रूरी है हवा में पसरे ठोस  कणीय  प्रदूषकों के २. ५ माक्रोमीटर से सूक्ष्म कण हमारे एयरवेज को अपना स्थाई निवास बना लेते हैं। इसके दीर्घगामी दुष्प्रभाव कार्डियोवैस्कुलर डिसीसेस  डिज़ीज़िज़  (हृदय और हृदय रक्त संचरण )सम्बन्धी रोगों ,डायबिटीज ,श्वसन संबंधी मेडिकल कंडीशन और कैंसर समूह के  रोगों की वजह बनते हैं। इन से ही असामयिक मौत के खतरों का वजन बढ़ता है। 

हरित क्रान्ति से पैदा खाद्य सुरक्षा कब तक ?आसार अच्छे नहीं है ?

प्रति एकड़ फसली उत्पादकता एक दो नहीं तकरीबन तीस देशों में गिर रही है। वजह  बढ़ते हुए तापमान हैं। स्वास्थ्य सेवाएं कब लड़खड़ाने लगें इसका भी कोई निश्चय नहीं। 

हमारे गाल बजाने से क्या होगा वो चेते जो कार्बन पीते हैं कार्बन ओढ़ते है कार्बन बिछाते हैं। दुनिया भर में जिनका कार्बन फुटप्रिंट लगातार बढ़ रहा है वही कोपेनहेगन जैसे समिट प्रतिबद्धता को ठेंगा दिखा रहे हैं। विज्ञानियों का काम आगाह करना है वह अपना काम कर रहें  हैं।कुर्सी भोगी कार्बन सेवी सरकारें चेते तो कुछ आस बंधे। अभी की स्थिति तो यूं है :

करूँ क्या आस निरास भई ...

Climate change is already here, and heat waves are having the biggest effect, report says(HINDI )

अनुमानों और अटकलों के दौर से निकलके अब जलवायु परिवर्तन ने एक स्थाई चोला पहन लिया है। अब यह पैरहन भी तार -तार हो चला है। चलिए कुछ विज्ञान की प्रामाणिक पत्रिकाओं में प्रकाशित हालिया रिपोर्ट के आलोक में अपनी बात कहने का प्रयास करते हैं :

जलवायु परिवर्तन के प्रभाव न सिर्फ हमारी सेहत को ही अपना निशाना बना रहे हैं चौतरफा उत्पादकता ,खाद्यान्नों की आपूर्ति पृथ्वी की सतह के बढ़ते तापमानों का ग्रास बन रही है। बे -इंतहा गर्मी का खमियाज़ा दुनियाभर के बुजुर्गों को ज्यादा भुगतना पड़  रहा है।योरोप में ऐसे ही  उम्रदराज़ लोगों का ४२  फीसद ,पूरबी मेडिटरेनियन क्षेत्र का ४३ फीसद ,३८ फीसद अफ्रिका और ३४फीसद एशिया में बढ़ते तापमानों की लपेट में आया है। बे -हद की गर्मी और बे -इंतहा की  सर्दी ६५ से पार के लोगों पर भारी पड़ती है। 

हाल फिलाल ही में संयुक्त राष्ट्र संघ ने बतलाया कि २०१७ में भूमंडलीय स्तर पर कार्बन उतसर्जन (Carbon Emission ) सर्वाधिक स्तर को छू गया था। जन सेहत पर इसके दुष्प्रभावों के फलस्वरूप काम के घंटे कम होने से उत्पादकता गिरी है ,प्रति एकड़ प्राप्ति फसलों की कमतर हुई है ,मच्छरों से पैदा होने वाले रोगों में इज़ाफ़ा हो रहा है फिर चाहे वह ज़ीका वायरस हो या चिकिनगुनिया हो या फिर डेंगू। 

२०१७ में एक तरफ पंद्रह करोड़ सत्तर लाख लोग 'लू' या फिर 'हीट- वेव 'की चपेट में आये दूसरी तरफ गर्मी से प्रभावन बेहद गर्मी से आज़िज़ आने की वजह से काम के घंटों में भी पंद्रह अरब तीस करोड़ कार्य घंटों की गिरावट दर्ज़ हुई। 

किलनी (Ticks ,आठ टांगों वाला एक कीट जो  पशुओं और मनुष्यों के खून पर ही पलता है ),मच्छर और खून पीने वाले पिस्सुओं से पैदा होने वाले  रोगों में संयुक्त राज्य अमरीका में होने वाली बढ़ोतरी की वजह देर तक बनी रहने वाली 'हीट -वेव' ही बनी है। 

इसीलिए यूएसए में वेक्टर बोर्न 'लीमे डिजीज' (lyme disease ),'वेस्ट नील वायरस' के मामलों में २००४ -२०१६ के  बीच भारी वृद्धि दर्ज़ की गई। 

रिपोर्ट के गहन विश्लेषण से साफ़ हुआ है कि सेहत से सीधे जुडी हुई है जलवायु परिवर्तन की नव्ज़ ,रोग शमन  के लिए अपनाये गए  उपाय गैर -कारगर इसीलिए सिद्ध हो रहे हैं ,हमारी रोग शमन क्षमता  भी इसीलिए गिरी है। 

भविष्य के लिए भी आसार अच्छे नहीं हैं। 

सुधारात्मक उपाय जलवायु के ढाँचे को टूटने से बचाने वाले  नाकाफी सिद्ध हुए हैं  :

बेशक (२०१६-१७ )के दरमियान पुनर्प्रयोज्य ऊर्जा से जुड़े काम धंधों में ५. ७ फीसद लोगों को नया काम मिला है  लेकिन यह ऊँट के मुंह में जीरा साबित हो रहा है। 

पेरिस जलवायु परिवर्तन रोधी समझौता :पूर्व उद्योगिक वक्त के तापमानों में महज़ १. ५ सेल्सियस वृद्धि की इज़ाज़त देता है। क्या आपको लगता है हम इस लक्ष्य के आसपास भी हैं ?

परिवहन  क्षेत्र में कोयले की खपत को २०४० तक घटा कर २०१० की खपत के भी  २० फीसद तक ले आना कोई खाला जी का घर नहीं है। बहुत बड़ा लक्ष्य है यह आसान काम नहीं है। 

२०१८ का साल दुनिया भर में बेहद गर्म रहा है खासकर योरोप की लम्बाती गर्मी 'हीट- वेव' के लिए जलवायु परिवर्तन की ओर  ही ऊँगली उठी  है। अमरीकियों की सेहत पर भाई भारी पड़ी है जलवायु परिवर्तन की आफत। 

रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक़ (१९८६ -२०१७ )की अवधि में दुनिया  भर के लोगों को तापमानों में ०. ८ सेल्सियस की बढ़ोतरी का सामना करना पड़ा है। 

भू -सतह  के तापमान में भी ०. ३ सेल्सियस की वृद्धि दर्ज़ हुई इसी  दरमियान। 

अभी नहीं तो कभी नहीं जैसी स्थिति है हमारे सामने तभी शती  के बीतते न बीतते लाखों -लाख लोगों को असमय काल -कवलित होने से बचाया जा सकेगा। 

बात साफ़ है तापमान में थोड़ी सी  भी बढ़ोतरी और बरसात में होने वाली थोड़ी सी  भी घटबढ़ वेक्टर बोर्न डेंगू ,चिकिनगुनिया ,और ज़ीका वायरस के फैलाव को पंख लगा देगी। 

१९५० के बाद से अब तक डेंगू के प्रसार में ७. ८ फीसद की बढ़ोतरी की पुष्टि तो आंकड़े ही कर चुके हैं। २०१६ में इसके अधिकतम मामले दर्ज़ हुए हैं। 

फिर से लौट सकता है हैज़ा (कॉलरा जीवाणु विब्रियो )

(१९८० -२०१० )के दरमियान ऐसे अमरिकी तटीय इलाकों में २७ फीसद की वृद्धि हुई है जिन्हें  कॉलरा (cholera )संक्रमण फैलाने के लिए अरक्षित समझा जा रहा है। आसानी से चपेट में आ सकता है इत्ता बड़ा इलाका हैज़ा जैसी बीमारी के। 

चौतरफा  प्रदूषण से होने वाली असामयिक मौतों ,बालकों में शिनाख्त हुई बढ़ती डायबिटीज की चर्चा हम पहले भी कर चुके हैं।

अभी तो केलिफोर्निया राज्य में ज़ारी चले आये दावानल के सेहत पर पड़ने वाले दुष्प्रभावों  का आकलन होना बाकी है। 

जान ना ज़रूरी है हवा में पसरे ठोस  कणीय  प्रदूषकों के २. ५ माक्रोमीटर से सूक्ष्म कण हमारे एयरवेज को अपना स्थाई निवास बना लेते हैं। इसके दीर्घगामी दुष्प्रभाव कार्डियोवैस्कुलर डिसीसेस  डिज़ीज़िज़  (हृदय और हृदय रक्त संचरण )सम्बन्धी रोगों ,डायबिटीज ,श्वसन संबंधी मेडिकल कंडीशन और कैंसर समूह के  रोगों की वजह बनते हैं। इन से ही असामयिक मौत के खतरों का वजन बढ़ता है। 

हरित क्रान्ति से पैदा खाद्य सुरक्षा कब तक ?आसार अच्छे नहीं है ?

प्रति एकड़ फसली उत्पादकता एक दो नहीं तकरीबन तीस देशों में गिर रही है। वजह  बढ़ते हुए तापमान हैं। स्वास्थ्य सेवाएं कब लड़खड़ाने लगें इसका भी कोई निश्चय नहीं। 

हमारे गाल बजाने से क्या होगा वो चेते जो कार्बन पीते हैं कार्बन ओढ़ते है कार्बन बिछाते हैं। दुनिया भर में जिनका कार्बन फुटप्रिंट लगातार बढ़ रहा है वही कोपेनहेगन जैसे समिट प्रतिबद्धता को ठेंगा दिखा रहे हैं। विज्ञानियों का काम आगाह करना है वह अपना काम कर रहें  हैं।कुर्सी भोगी कार्बन सेवी सरकारें चेते तो कुछ आस बंधे। अभी की स्थिति तो यूं है :

करूँ क्या आस निरास भई ...


6:07

मंगलवार, 27 नवंबर 2018

World’s First Genetically Edited Babies Claimed in China

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Hong Kong (AP) -- A Chinese researcher claims that he helped make the world's first genetically edited babies — twin girls born this month whose DNA he said he altered with a powerful new tool capable of rewriting the very blueprint of life.


If true, it would be a profound leap of science and ethics.

A U.S. scientist said he took part in the work in China, but this kind of gene editing is banned in the United States because the DNA changes can pass to future generations and it risks harming other genes.



Many mainstream scientists think it's too unsafe to try, and some denounced the Chinese report as human experimentation.
The researcher, He Jiankui of Shenzhen, said he altered embryos for seven couples during fertility treatments, with one pregnancy resulting thus far. He said his goal was not to cure or prevent an inherited disease, but to try to bestow a trait that few people naturally have — an ability to resist possible future infection with HIV, the AIDS virus.
He said the parents involved declined to be identified or interviewed, and he would not say where they live or where the work was done.

He Jiankui 
Photographer: Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo

There is no independent confirmation of He's claim, and it has not been published in a journal, where it would be vetted by other experts. He revealed it Monday in Hong Kong to one of the organizers of an international conference on gene editing that is set to begin Tuesday, and earlier in exclusive interviews with The Associated Press.
"I feel a strong responsibility that it's not just to make a first, but also make it an example," He told the AP. "Society will decide what to do next" in terms of allowing or forbidding such science.
Some scientists were astounded to hear of the claim and strongly condemned it.


Hong Kong (AP) -- A Chinese researcher claims that he helped make the world's first genetically edited babies — twin girls born this month whose DNA he said he altered with a powerful new tool capable of rewriting the very blueprint of life.
If true, it would be a profound leap of science and ethics.
A U.S. scientist said he took part in the work in China, but this kind of gene editing is banned in the United States because the DNA changes can pass to future generations and it risks harming other genes.
Many mainstream scientists think it's too unsafe to try, and some denounced the Chinese report as human experimentation.
The researcher, He Jiankui of Shenzhen, said he altered embryos for seven couples during fertility treatments, with one pregnancy resulting thus far. He said his goal was not to cure or prevent an inherited disease, but to try to bestow a trait that few people naturally have — an ability to resist possible future infection with HIV, the AIDS virus.
He said the parents involved declined to be identified or interviewed, and he would not say where they live or where the work was done.

There is no independent confirmation of He's claim, and it has not been published in a journal, where it would be vetted by other experts. He revealed it Monday in Hong Kong to one of the organizers of an international conference on gene editing that is set to begin Tuesday, and earlier in exclusive interviews with The Associated Press.
"I feel a strong responsibility that it's not just to make a first, but also make it an example," He told the AP. "Society will decide what to do next" in terms of allowing or forbidding such science.
Some scientists were astounded to hear of the claim and strongly condemned it.
It's "unconscionable ... an experiment on human beings that is not morally or ethically defensible," said Dr. Kiran Musunuru, a University of Pennsylvania gene editing expert and editor of a genetics journal.
"This is far too premature," said Dr. Eric Topol, who heads the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California. "We're dealing with the operating instructions of a human being. It's a big deal."
However, one famed geneticist, Harvard University's George Church, defended attempting gene editing for HIV, which he called "a major and growing public health threat."
"I think this is justifiable," Church said of that goal.
In recent years scientists have discovered a relatively easy way to edit genes, the strands of DNA that govern the body. The tool, called CRISPR-cas9, makes it possible to operate on DNA to supply a needed gene or disable one that's causing problems.
It's only recently been tried in adults to treat deadly diseases, and the changes are confined to that person. Editing sperm, eggs or embryos is different — the changes can be inherited. In the U.S., it's not allowed except for lab research. China outlaws human cloning but not specifically gene editing.

He Jiankui (HEH JEE'-an-qway), who goes by "JK," studied at Rice and Stanford universities in the U.S. before returning to his homeland to open a lab at Southern University of Science and Technology of China in Shenzhen, where he also has two genetics companies. The university said He's work "seriously violated academic ethics and standards" and planned to investigate. A spokesman for He confirmed that he has been on leave from teaching since early this year, but he remains on the faculty and has a lab at the school.

The U.S. scientist who worked with him on this project after He returned to China was physics and bioengineering professor Michael Deem, who was his adviser at Rice in Houston. Deem also holds what he called "a small stake" in — and is on the scientific advisory boards of — He's two companies.
The Chinese researcher said he practiced editing mice, monkey and human embryos in the lab for several years and has applied for patents on his methods.
He said he chose embryo gene editing for HIV because these infections are a big problem in China. He sought to disable a gene called CCR5 that forms a protein doorway that allows HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, to enter a cell.
All of the men in the project had HIV and all of the women did not, but the gene editing was not aimed at preventing the small risk of transmission, He said. The fathers had their infections deeply suppressed by standard HIV medicines and there are simple ways to keep them from infecting offspring that do not involve altering genes.
Instead, the appeal was to offer couples affected by HIV a chance to have a child that might be protected from a similar fate.
He recruited couples through a Beijing-based AIDS advocacy group called Baihualin. Its leader, known by the pseudonym "Bai Hua," told the AP that it's not uncommon for people with HIV to lose jobs or have trouble getting medical care if their infections are revealed.
Here is how He described the work:
The gene editing occurred during IVF, or lab dish fertilization. First, sperm was "washed" to separate it from semen, the fluid where HIV can lurk. A single sperm was placed into a single egg to create an embryo. Then the gene editing tool was added.
When the embryos were 3 to 5 days old, a few cells were removed and checked for editing. Couples could choose whether to use edited or unedited embryos for pregnancy attempts. In all, 16 of 22 embryos were edited, and 11 embryos were used in six implant attempts before the twin pregnancy was achieved, He said.
Tests suggest that one twin had both copies of the intended gene altered and the other twin had just one altered, with no evidence of harm to other genes, He said. People with one copy of the gene can still get HIV, although some very limited research suggests their health might decline more slowly once they do.


Hong Kong (AP) -- A Chinese researcher claims that he helped make the world's first genetically edited babies — twin girls born this month whose DNA he said he altered with a powerful new tool capable of rewriting the very blueprint of life.
If true, it would be a profound leap of science and ethics.
A U.S. scientist said he took part in the work in China, but this kind of gene editing is banned in the United States because the DNA changes can pass to future generations and it risks harming other genes.
Many mainstream scientists think it's too unsafe to try, and some denounced the Chinese report as human experimentation.
The researcher, He Jiankui of Shenzhen, said he altered embryos for seven couples during fertility treatments, with one pregnancy resulting thus far. He said his goal was not to cure or prevent an inherited disease, but to try to bestow a trait that few people naturally have — an ability to resist possible future infection with HIV, the AIDS virus.
He said the parents involved declined to be identified or interviewed, and he would not say where they live or where the work was done.

He Jiankui 
Photographer: Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo

There is no independent confirmation of He's claim, and it has not been published in a journal, where it would be vetted by other experts. He revealed it Monday in Hong Kong to one of the organizers of an international conference on gene editing that is set to begin Tuesday, and earlier in exclusive interviews with The Associated Press.
"I feel a strong responsibility that it's not just to make a first, but also make it an example," He told the AP. "Society will decide what to do next" in terms of allowing or forbidding such science.
Some scientists were astounded to hear of the claim and strongly condemned it.
It's "unconscionable ... an experiment on human beings that is not morally or ethically defensible," said Dr. Kiran Musunuru, a University of Pennsylvania gene editing expert and editor of a genetics journal.
"This is far too premature," said Dr. Eric Topol, who heads the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California. "We're dealing with the operating instructions of a human being. It's a big deal."
However, one famed geneticist, Harvard University's George Church, defended attempting gene editing for HIV, which he called "a major and growing public health threat."
"I think this is justifiable," Church said of that goal.
In recent years scientists have discovered a relatively easy way to edit genes, the strands of DNA that govern the body. The tool, called CRISPR-cas9, makes it possible to operate on DNA to supply a needed gene or disable one that's causing problems.
It's only recently been tried in adults to treat deadly diseases, and the changes are confined to that person. Editing sperm, eggs or embryos is different — the changes can be inherited. In the U.S., it's not allowed except for lab research. China outlaws human cloning but not specifically gene editing.


He Jiankui (HEH JEE'-an-qway), who goes by "JK," studied at Rice and Stanford universities in the U.S. before returning to his homeland to open a lab at Southern University of Science and Technology of China in Shenzhen, where he also has two genetics companies. The university said He's work "seriously violated academic ethics and standards" and planned to investigate. A spokesman for He confirmed that he has been on leave from teaching since early this year, but he remains on the faculty and has a lab at the school.
The U.S. scientist who worked with him on this project after He returned to China was physics and bioengineering professor Michael Deem, who was his adviser at Rice in Houston. Deem also holds what he called "a small stake" in — and is on the scientific advisory boards of — He's two companies.
The Chinese researcher said he practiced editing mice, monkey and human embryos in the lab for several years and has applied for patents on his methods.
He said he chose embryo gene editing for HIV because these infections are a big problem in China. He sought to disable a gene called CCR5 that forms a protein doorway that allows HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, to enter a cell.
All of the men in the project had HIV and all of the women did not, but the gene editing was not aimed at preventing the small risk of transmission, He said. The fathers had their infections deeply suppressed by standard HIV medicines and there are simple ways to keep them from infecting offspring that do not involve altering genes.
Instead, the appeal was to offer couples affected by HIV a chance to have a child that might be protected from a similar fate.
He recruited couples through a Beijing-based AIDS advocacy group called Baihualin. Its leader, known by the pseudonym "Bai Hua," told the AP that it's not uncommon for people with HIV to lose jobs or have trouble getting medical care if their infections are revealed.
Here is how He described the work:
The gene editing occurred during IVF, or lab dish fertilization. First, sperm was "washed" to separate it from semen, the fluid where HIV can lurk. A single sperm was placed into a single egg to create an embryo. Then the gene editing tool was added.
When the embryos were 3 to 5 days old, a few cells were removed and checked for editing. Couples could choose whether to use edited or unedited embryos for pregnancy attempts. In all, 16 of 22 embryos were edited, and 11 embryos were used in six implant attempts before the twin pregnancy was achieved, He said.
Tests suggest that one twin had both copies of the intended gene altered and the other twin had just one altered, with no evidence of harm to other genes, He said. People with one copy of the gene can still get HIV, although some very limited research suggests their health might decline more slowly once they do.
Several scientists reviewed materials that He provided to the AP and said tests so far are insufficient to say the editing worked or to rule out harm.
They also noted evidence that the editing was incomplete and that at least one twin appears to be a patchwork of cells with various changes.
"It's almost like not editing at all" if only some of certain cells were altered, because HIV infection can still occur, Church said.
Church and Musunuru questioned the decision to allow one of the embryos to be used in a pregnancy attempt, because the Chinese researchers said they knew in advance that both copies of the intended gene had not been altered.
"In that child, there really was almost nothing to be gained in terms of protection against HIV and yet you're exposing that child to all the unknown safety risks," Musunuru said.
The use of that embryo suggests that the researchers' "main emphasis was on testing editing rather than avoiding this disease," Church said.
Even if editing worked perfectly, people without normal CCR5 genes face higher risks of getting certain other viruses, such as West Nile, and of dying from the flu. Since there are many ways to prevent HIV infection and it's very treatable if it occurs, those other medical risks are a concern, Musunuru said.
There also are questions about the way He said he proceeded. He gave official notice of his work long after he said he started it — on Nov. 8, on a Chinese registry of clinical trials.
It's unclear whether participants fully understood the purpose and potential risks and benefits. For example, consent forms called the project an "AIDS vaccine development" program.
The Rice scientist, Deem, said he was present in China when potential participants gave their consent and that he "absolutely" thinks they were able to understand the risks.
Deem said he worked with He on vaccine research at Rice and considers the gene editing similar to a vaccine.
"That might be a layman's way of describing it," he said.
Both men are physics experts with no experience running human clinical trials.
The Chinese scientist, He, said he personally made the goals clear and told participants that embryo gene editing has never been tried before and carries risks. He said he also would provide insurance coverage for any children conceived through the project and plans medical follow-up until the children are 18 and longer if they agree once they're adults.
Further pregnancy attempts are on hold until the safety of this one is analyzed and experts in the field weigh in, but participants were not told in advance that they might not have a chance to try what they signed up for once a "first" was achieved, He acknowledged. Free fertility treatment was part of the deal they were offered.
He sought and received approval for his project from Shenzhen Harmonicare Women's and Children's Hospital, which is not one of the four hospitals that He said provided embryos for his research or the pregnancy attempts.
Some staff at some of the other hospitals were kept in the dark about the nature of the research, which He and Deem said was done to keep some participants' HIV infection from being disclosed.
"We think this is ethical," said Lin Zhitong, a Harmonicare administrator who heads the ethics panel.


Hong Kong (AP) -- A Chinese researcher claims that he helped make the world's first genetically edited babies — twin girls born this month whose DNA he said he altered with a powerful new tool capable of rewriting the very blueprint of life.
If true, it would be a profound leap of science and ethics.
A U.S. scientist said he took part in the work in China, but this kind of gene editing is banned in the United States because the DNA changes can pass to future generations and it risks harming other genes.
Many mainstream scientists think it's too unsafe to try, and some denounced the Chinese report as human experimentation.
The researcher, He Jiankui of Shenzhen, said he altered embryos for seven couples during fertility treatments, with one pregnancy resulting thus far. He said his goal was not to cure or prevent an inherited disease, but to try to bestow a trait that few people naturally have — an ability to resist possible future infection with HIV, the AIDS virus.
He said the parents involved declined to be identified or interviewed, and he would not say where they live or where the work was done.

He Jiankui 
Photographer: Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo

There is no independent confirmation of He's claim, and it has not been published in a journal, where it would be vetted by other experts. He revealed it Monday in Hong Kong to one of the organizers of an international conference on gene editing that is set to begin Tuesday, and earlier in exclusive interviews with The Associated Press.
"I feel a strong responsibility that it's not just to make a first, but also make it an example," He told the AP. "Society will decide what to do next" in terms of allowing or forbidding such science.
Some scientists were astounded to hear of the claim and strongly condemned it.
It's "unconscionable ... an experiment on human beings that is not morally or ethically defensible," said Dr. Kiran Musunuru, a University of Pennsylvania gene editing expert and editor of a genetics journal.
"This is far too premature," said Dr. Eric Topol, who heads the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California. "We're dealing with the operating instructions of a human being. It's a big deal."
However, one famed geneticist, Harvard University's George Church, defended attempting gene editing for HIV, which he called "a major and growing public health threat."
"I think this is justifiable," Church said of that goal.
In recent years scientists have discovered a relatively easy way to edit genes, the strands of DNA that govern the body. The tool, called CRISPR-cas9, makes it possible to operate on DNA to supply a needed gene or disable one that's causing problems.
It's only recently been tried in adults to treat deadly diseases, and the changes are confined to that person. Editing sperm, eggs or embryos is different — the changes can be inherited. In the U.S., it's not allowed except for lab research. China outlaws human cloning but not specifically gene editing.


He Jiankui (HEH JEE'-an-qway), who goes by "JK," studied at Rice and Stanford universities in the U.S. before returning to his homeland to open a lab at Southern University of Science and Technology of China in Shenzhen, where he also has two genetics companies. The university said He's work "seriously violated academic ethics and standards" and planned to investigate. A spokesman for He confirmed that he has been on leave from teaching since early this year, but he remains on the faculty and has a lab at the school.
The U.S. scientist who worked with him on this project after He returned to China was physics and bioengineering professor Michael Deem, who was his adviser at Rice in Houston. Deem also holds what he called "a small stake" in — and is on the scientific advisory boards of — He's two companies.
The Chinese researcher said he practiced editing mice, monkey and human embryos in the lab for several years and has applied for patents on his methods.
He said he chose embryo gene editing for HIV because these infections are a big problem in China. He sought to disable a gene called CCR5 that forms a protein doorway that allows HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, to enter a cell.
All of the men in the project had HIV and all of the women did not, but the gene editing was not aimed at preventing the small risk of transmission, He said. The fathers had their infections deeply suppressed by standard HIV medicines and there are simple ways to keep them from infecting offspring that do not involve altering genes.
Instead, the appeal was to offer couples affected by HIV a chance to have a child that might be protected from a similar fate.
He recruited couples through a Beijing-based AIDS advocacy group called Baihualin. Its leader, known by the pseudonym "Bai Hua," told the AP that it's not uncommon for people with HIV to lose jobs or have trouble getting medical care if their infections are revealed.
Here is how He described the work:
The gene editing occurred during IVF, or lab dish fertilization. First, sperm was "washed" to separate it from semen, the fluid where HIV can lurk. A single sperm was placed into a single egg to create an embryo. Then the gene editing tool was added.
When the embryos were 3 to 5 days old, a few cells were removed and checked for editing. Couples could choose whether to use edited or unedited embryos for pregnancy attempts. In all, 16 of 22 embryos were edited, and 11 embryos were used in six implant attempts before the twin pregnancy was achieved, He said.
Tests suggest that one twin had both copies of the intended gene altered and the other twin had just one altered, with no evidence of harm to other genes, He said. People with one copy of the gene can still get HIV, although some very limited research suggests their health might decline more slowly once they do.
Several scientists reviewed materials that He provided to the AP and said tests so far are insufficient to say the editing worked or to rule out harm.
They also noted evidence that the editing was incomplete and that at least one twin appears to be a patchwork of cells with various changes.
"It's almost like not editing at all" if only some of certain cells were altered, because HIV infection can still occur, Church said.
Church and Musunuru questioned the decision to allow one of the embryos to be used in a pregnancy attempt, because the Chinese researchers said they knew in advance that both copies of the intended gene had not been altered.
"In that child, there really was almost nothing to be gained in terms of protection against HIV and yet you're exposing that child to all the unknown safety risks," Musunuru said.
The use of that embryo suggests that the researchers' "main emphasis was on testing editing rather than avoiding this disease," Church said.
Even if editing worked perfectly, people without normal CCR5 genes face higher risks of getting certain other viruses, such as West Nile, and of dying from the flu. Since there are many ways to prevent HIV infection and it's very treatable if it occurs, those other medical risks are a concern, Musunuru said.
There also are questions about the way He said he proceeded. He gave official notice of his work long after he said he started it — on Nov. 8, on a Chinese registry of clinical trials.
It's unclear whether participants fully understood the purpose and potential risks and benefits. For example, consent forms called the project an "AIDS vaccine development" program.
The Rice scientist, Deem, said he was present in China when potential participants gave their consent and that he "absolutely" thinks they were able to understand the risks.
Deem said he worked with He on vaccine research at Rice and considers the gene editing similar to a vaccine.
"That might be a layman's way of describing it," he said.
Both men are physics experts with no experience running human clinical trials.
The Chinese scientist, He, said he personally made the goals clear and told participants that embryo gene editing has never been tried before and carries risks. He said he also would provide insurance coverage for any children conceived through the project and plans medical follow-up until the children are 18 and longer if they agree once they're adults.
Further pregnancy attempts are on hold until the safety of this one is analyzed and experts in the field weigh in, but participants were not told in advance that they might not have a chance to try what they signed up for once a "first" was achieved, He acknowledged. Free fertility treatment was part of the deal they were offered.
He sought and received approval for his project from Shenzhen Harmonicare Women's and Children's Hospital, which is not one of the four hospitals that He said provided embryos for his research or the pregnancy attempts.
Some staff at some of the other hospitals were kept in the dark about the nature of the research, which He and Deem said was done to keep some participants' HIV infection from being disclosed.
"We think this is ethical," said Lin Zhitong, a Harmonicare administrator who heads the ethics panel.
Any medical staff who handled samples that might contain HIV were aware, He said. An embryologist in He's lab, Qin Jinzhou, confirmed to the AP that he did sperm washing and injected the gene editing tool in some of the pregnancy attempts.
The study participants are not ethicists, He said, but "are as much authorities on what is correct and what is wrong because it's their life on the line."
"I believe this is going to help the families and their children," He said. If it causes unwanted side effects or harm, "I would feel the same pain as they do and it's going to be my own responsibility."
AP science writer Christina Larson, video journalist Emily Wang and researcher Fu Ting contributed to this report from Beijing and Shenzhen, China.
___
This Associated Press series was produced in partnership with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-26/urgent-ap-exclusive-first-gene-edited-bab