CRISPR Gene-editing Technique Tested In Human For The First Time
China has made a new breakthrough in gene therapy procedures. Gene-editing is now something people can hope for in further developing and finding solutions for other diseases especially cancer.
CNN has announced that a team of Chinese scientists has managed to extract cells from sick people, repair them using gene correction therapy and bring them back into the patient’s bloodstream, hoping that, supposedly, maybe, this will have the wanted effect of curing cancer cells in the patient’s boy.
Science News adds in on the story, by announcing that this is not the first time such a therapy has been performed. Back in the year of 2015 a baby’s leukemia had been cured using a similar procedure. The procedure itself involves lab created artificial cells called CAR-T cells, which are expected to be immune to the development of cancerous disease. Oncologist Lu You of Sichuan University in Chengdu has a governmental approval to conduct research in the field, where the U.S is now establishing its own branch too.
Nature cites Carl June who specializes in immunotherapy at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia who says that this new discovery of China may be called the Sputnik 2.0, issuing a new for of space battle in the future. Money, minds and time will be further involved into the process, for the first to reach full success will have the upper hand against the rest of the world.
March 2017, a group at Peking University in Beijing is expected to start CRISPR studies for the development of counter measures against three types of cancer. Bladder, prostate and renal-cell cancers will be on the target list of the Beijing University scientists.
This is a great scientific breakthrough, which on its own, like the Philadelphia scientist warned, may start a cold-war like technology race between the two countries. This may be both helpful and disastrous to them, depending on the success they achieve and the protection of their patents.
