https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/09/29/future-of-genetically-modified-babies-may-lie-in-putins-hands-a67492
Future of Genetically Modified Babies May Lie in Putin's Hands
By Bloomberg
Sep. 29, 2019
This summer, after a Russian biochemist announced plans to follow in the footsteps of a rogue Chinese researcher and produce genetically modified children, a 150-year-old academic journal that reflects the current scientific consensus called on the world to stop him.
“Time is of the essence,” Nature said. The dangers of altering human DNA that will be passed on to offspring simply aren’t understood well enough to allow Denis Rebrikov, a prorector of one prestigious Russian institute and a lab director at another, to proceed, the British publication argued.
Six weeks after Nature’s call to action, some of Russia’s top geneticists convened a secret meeting with health officials at a facility in southern Moscow that included a special guest with unusual access to the Kremlin: Vladimir Putin’s eldest daughter, according to three people who were there.
Emerging technology
Figuring that in Russia only Putin can decide how to regulate an emerging technology capable of changing the code of every living cell, the geneticists wanted to present their conflicting opinions about Rebrikov’s intentions in front of Maria Vorontsova, an endocrinologist whose views on bioethics are becoming increasingly influential, the people said.
For three hours, Vorontsova listened intently to arguments for and against Rebrikov’s planned use of the gene-editing technique known as Crispr, participants said. Rebrikov, a brash former wrestler, is working with a deaf couple who want him to prevent a planned child from inheriting their condition by neutralizing defective GJB2 genes during artificial insemination.
The proponents of Rebrikov’s crusade who were at the closed-door session said they came away optimistic Vorontsova may champion their cause. She didn’t say “yes” or “no,” they said, but she did agree that scientific progress can’t be stopped and that human DNA editing should be prohibited in the private sector and confined to state-run facilities to maximize oversight.
Rebrikov’s opponents, including the vast majority of experts, say approving the application he’s preparing to submit to the Health Ministry in October would only encourage other scientists to conduct risky experiments with human sperm, eggs and embryos before a global framework can be put in place to govern one of the most controversial areas of science.
Vorontsova, who specializes in pediatric growth disorders, didn’t respond to requests for comment sent to the National Endocrinology Research Center, where she works, or the Russian Association of Assistance to Science, where she sits on the presidium. The Kremlin has never publicly confirmed that Vorontsova is Putin’s daughter.
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