Researcher Claims Chinese CRISPR Babies Could Have Enhanced Learning Capacity
Twin girls from China unwittingly made history last year by becoming the world's first gene-edited babies. But it is the story of the scientist who performed the procedure, He Jiankui, that has grabbed headlines. As a result of his "irresponsible" actions, he has been shunned by colleagues, put under house arrest, and placed under investigation. He used the gene-editing tool CRISPR to modify the twins' DNA and grant them resistance to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which can develop into AIDs. The entire operation took place before the twins, Lulu and Nana, were even born – while they were still technically human embryos. However, disabling the gene CCR5 may have done more than simply immunize them against HIV. If new research is anything to go by, the removal of said gene may have given the twins a memory boost and revved up their learning potential. A similar process has already been shown to improve recovery in stroke patients and make mice more brainy. Read full article....
Source: https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/researcher-claims-chinese-crispr-babies-could-have-enhanced-learning-capacity/