HIV Eliminated from the Genomes of Living Animals
NCER Notes:
With more than 36 M HIV infected people worldwide, and over 1 M living in the U.S., a cure for the disease is fervently sought. Researchers at our own UNMC in Omaha, Ne. believe they have found that cure! Mice were injected with human stem cells from cord blood in order to create a more human-like immune system. These mice were then infected with the HIV virus, and eventually treated with a long …
CRISPR Babies: When Will the World Be Ready?
NCER Notes:
As an alarming example of how the gene editing of embryos can be dangerous, the first gene edited babies born in China last year now have a high probability of a significantly shorter lifespan due to unexpected consequences of the editing. Because of this outcome, the World Health Organization has asked all countries to stop any further research leading to gene edited babies. In spite of these warnings, a Russian biologist plans to …
Study Will Test CRISPR Gene Editing Inside the Body for the First Time
Notes from NCER:
In hopes of receiving sight, adults and children with an inherited form of blindness will have their genes edited in the first ever treatment that will alter patients’ native DNA using CRISPR. The specific condition, Leber congenital amaurosis, is rare (3 out of 100,000), and occurs when a child inherits two flawed genes, one from each parent. This is a stellar example of the ethical use of gene editing in humans in …
The Immaculate Conception?
NCER Notes
With a discovery straight out of science fiction, researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have taken us one step closer to human reproduction without the need for eggs and sperm. How is this possible? They have discovered the genes necessary to transform human skin cells into an embryo, it’s placenta and umbilical cord. The stated purpose of this breakthrough is to easily and quickly create vast quantities of test tube embryos for …
Omaha World Herald Op-Ed Feature
NCER had the opportunity to comment in the Midlands section of the OWH concerning the ethics of IVF which was used in a complex and unusual birth last month at UNMC.
Midlands Voices: Complex births raise profound bioethical challenges
The Omaha World-Herald recently featured the birth of a precious baby girl, Uma. This birth was the result of a unique, complex effort by family members, each of whom was …
Connecticut The Latest State To Tackle Frozen Embryo Cases And The Bigger Questions They Pose
NCER Notes
In a currently common scenario, a husband and wife create and freeze human embryos with the stipulation that should their marriage end, any remaining embryos will be destroyed. Fast forward, the couples marriage ends in divorce, but one decides they want to keep said remaining embryos. Now the state Supreme Court will decide whose “property” the embryos are, and what shall be their “fate”: to remain frozen or to be destroyed. This exact …
Scientists Push for a Moratorium on Human Germline Editing
From NCER:
In response to the blatant breach of ethics with the birth of DNA-modified twins last year in China, seven of the most powerful international scientific research entities have joined forces to propose a global moratorium on editing heritable DNA to create genetically-modified children. Thirty nations already have banned this research, and while this moratorium is a good first step toward regulation, it is not a ban, and therefore it clearly acknowledges the eventuality …
New Therapeutic Approach to Treating Osteoarthritis
From NCER:
Almost 27 million Americans suffer from painful osteoarthritis, caused by the degeneration of cartilage and bone. As the “Baby Boomer” population ages, this number will significantly surge, leading to a medical health crisis. Researchers from Texas A&M believe they have found a successful way to deliver “therapeutic growth factor” treatment to affected joints in a safe and effective way. Once thought of as science fiction, “nanoparticles” have shown the ability to deliver this …
Human Cells Can Change Job to Fight Diabetes
From NCER:
Until now, all adult cells were thought to permanently execute one function. For the first time ever, researchers collaborating from several universities have discovered that adult somatic cells can be influenced to change from their original role to perform as a different cell type. In the study, glucagon-producing Alpha cells from the pancreas were manipulated to operate as insulin-producing Beta cells, thus potentially leading to a new treatment for Diabetes. NCER supports this …
As a genome editing summit opens in Hong Kong, questions abound over China, and why it quietly bowed out.
Due to the generosity of supporters, a representative of NCER was one of only 400 attendees at the Second International Genome Editing Summit in Hong Kong, 11/2018. There, a bombshell report broke that one of the Chinese scientists scheduled to speak at the Summit announced he used the CRISPR gene tool to edit the DNA of twins that were then born in October, hence breaking the international moratorium on clinical Genome Editing in human embryos. …