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I did things too fast. My further research will be transparent and open to the whole world. This is what the creator of the world's first genetically modified babies, He Jiangwei, says after his release from prison, but assures that he is returning to science just a few years after horrifying the scientific community with one of the most dangerous and shocking experiments in the world, "Dnevnik" writes. .
He has spent the last three years in prison, but now he is confident that he will cure a rare disease in three years and is looking for serious funding.
Scientists, who have previously compared him to the Nazis, are watching with alarm, El Pais reports.
He's current goal is to treat genetic diseases in children and adults, the scientist explained to the publication (by email because he did not want to give interviews).
His return to this field, however, shocked the scientific community and its representatives - and among them there is a Nobel Laureate - with whom the Spanish publication spoke.
According to Kiran Musunuru, an expert on genetic editing, his actions were "as serious as the war crimes committed by Nazi doctors during the Second World War".
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Just four years ago, he shocked the world by announcing the birth of two genetically modified twins whose genomes had been edited with the CRISPR tool to be naturally immune to AIDS (the virus that causes it is the parents' infection).
The initial euphoria of the Chinese authorities died in an avalanche of criticism: the experiments were carried out in serious violations of basic ethical and medical norms.
Moreover, Hu knew that the genome of at least one of the embryos had unwanted errors, but decided to continue with the experiment to achieve in vitro fertilization.
As a result, He was sentenced to three years in prison.
However, he was not the only one responsible: in addition to associates in China, there were those familiar with his work in the US who also encouraged him.
Since then, the identities of the twins, as well as that of another gene-edited couple's child, have been among the best-kept secrets because of the risks to them if they were identified - they are the only three members of a new human species whose genome has been rewritten without being known consequences.
"My goal is to receive 137 million euros from the creator of Alibaba and other multi-millionaires," He explained months after his release from prison. He says he lives "pretty well", spends a lot of time with his wife and children in Beijing, and plays golf.
At the same time, he has already rented an office, where he works on a non-profit organization for the research (and methods of treatment) of rare diseases, but this time - for children and adults, not for embryos.
These are genetic diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy - the most common of its kind in boys.
He assures that he has already received his first donation - from the USA.
He insists he has changed: he will publish all findings on social networks, an international team will review his work.
In comparison, Hu never published a detailed study after his experiments.
After the scandal, these practices have already been banned in a number of countries.
However, He has decided to explain his actions at scientific congresses in Europe and the US - including at Oxford University, where he has been invited to speak.
The newspaper notes that almost no one denies that he is right about one thing: gene therapy is too expensive at the moment, and the few drugs of this type are among the most expensive in the world (for example, one of them, for a hereditary blood disorder, costs 3.5 million dollars). US dollars).
His goal is to make therapy in China cost tens of times less.
At the same time, according to the cited scientist Musunuru, the problem with He's work is that it cannot skip steps as he did: inject cheap, unapproved CRISPR materials for use on Homo sapiens and inject them into the embryos without worrying about safety of the mother or the children.
"This is the last person I would trust for cheaper therapies."
The researchers interviewed by the publication note that the available genetic editing tools are not developed enough to be used in sperm, eggs and embryos so that the changes are passed down through the generations.
The debate among scientists: should Hu be given a second chance?
Some note that his mistakes are too great, others that the world of science usually does it anyway, but any experimental therapy should be watched with caution.
One of them, Fyodor Urnov, reports that his shadow, hanging over genetics, can hardly be ignored anymore.
"It's a nightmare. No one can have a conversation about gene therapy anymore without his name coming up."