A controversial study has been published detailing the results of the first ever attempt by researchers to edit the genes of human embryos.
The intention of the study — undertaken at the Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou — was to explore whether it was possible to edit a gene in embryos that causes a blood disorder called β-thalassaemia using a technique called CRISPR-Cas9. Only around 13 percent of the 86 embryos involved in the study showed evidence of successful gene modification using the technique.
By: Katie Collins,
