The world released from prison re-energizes itself

New Yorker According to his report JK – as his American friends called Ho Chien-kui – for his work in the field of genetic modification They seem to be motivated by one main goal: the betterment of humanity. The biophysicist wanted to achieve this, among other things, by editing the genes of embryos to help avoid diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s and HIV. The whole god’s complicated behavior eventually lands JK in prison.

A very ambitious and unethical idea

The notorious scientist was released from prison last year and then returned to the public. As is known, his laboratory was closed in 2019 due to “illegal medical practices”, he himself was sentenced to three years in prison, and the Chinese authorities imposed a fine of approximately 150 million Hungarian forints. Now that he is free again, despite the risk of punishment, “it seems like he’s already planning How to get back to work creating genetically modified humansZ,” writes A BGR.

A baby was born in the UK from the DNA of three parents

JK was smart before. She initially focused on finding ways to eliminate the risk of HIV infection, then used that focus to recruit couples to participate in conversations about HIV/AIDS. In these couples, one partner was infected and the other was not. For these couples, JK Gene editing It meant a real chance to have a baby without worrying about transmitting HIV.

The whole idea was very ambitious, and tried to draw the line between what is morally correct and what is scientifically acceptable. In addition, the current status of any of the fetuses involved in JK’s previous interventions remains unknown, and it is also unclear how his previous patients fared.

Consequences of a geopolitical PR move

Since his release from prison early last year, he is believed to be looking for new ways to advance his work in his attempts to produce genetically modified humans, BGR believes. The question is how The interest of the human race Where do you draw the line before individual interests, excessive research ambition and hunger for profit take over?

This March, hundreds of the world’s leading geneticists gathered at the Francis Crick Institute in London for the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing. this CRISPRDesigned as a conference on revolution (gyno), this was the first time the group had met since the 2018 conference in Hong Kong. The meeting became a virtual referendum on JK’s legacy. The Chinese scholar and his work in his absence have been referred to as an aberration, a corrected error.

Benjamin Hurlbut, a bioethicist at Arizona State University who was closely associated with JK even before his arrest, said punishing and ostracizing the Chinese scientist was a ruse that allowed other scientists to continue their work without facing consequences. “It was a geopolitical PR move. He became a scapegoat for the filth of society.” The summit made clear that genetic engineering is still moving, albeit cautiously, toward the future that John Kennedy sought to accelerate.

By the way, Hu Xinkui likely has a new position, director of the Institute of Genetic Medicine at Wuhan University of Technology, at least Dana GoodyearAccording to the author of the article in The New Yorker magazine.