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Sep 1, 2020

CRISPR-edited babies born in China may have enhanced brain functions

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Fifty years after the classic Star Trek episode “Space Seed,” life imitates art…


The controversial decision to genetically edit the embryos of two girls born in China last year might have enhanced their memory and cognition, scientists say.

Chinese scientist He Jiankui reported in November that he’d used the CRISPR editing tool to delete a gene called CCR5, which enables humans to contract HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. In addition to potentially blocking the development of AIDS, recent research suggests knocking out CCR5 can also make mice smarter and help the human brain recover from strokes.

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