A genetic mutation that a Chinese scientist attempted to create in twin babies born last year, ostensibly to help them fend off HIV infection, is also associated with a 21% increase in mortality in later life, according to an analysis IB Professor Rasmus Nielsen and Postdoctoral scholar Xinzhu Wei.
“Beyond the many ethical issues involved with the CRISPR babies, the fact is that, right now, with current knowledge, it is still very dangerous to try to introduce mutations without knowing the full effect of what those mutations do,” said Nielsen. “In this case, it is probably not a mutation that most people would want to have. You are actually, on average, worse off having it.”
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