China Gets in the Genetic Breakthrough Business
Kristie Lu Stout Hong Kong
cnn.com/2016/
This article implies that CHina has not been involved at all in this genetic research. In the article however it mentions Dennis Lo who 20 years ago at Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences came up with the test that is used in 90 countries to find out if a child has Down’s Syndrome in the Mother’s womb. They had discovered that fetal DNA exists in a mother’s bloodstream. He is now trying to cure cancer by using blood of the mother and sequencing a cancer genome. A blood test could soon be a scan of all the workings of your body.
Pei Duanquing has created stem cells from urine. This is a huge breakthrough for patients with Parkinson's and other degenerative diseases. Due to these successes and others China has invested a huge amount of funding into this area. They are now third in the world. China may even pass up the US in research and the money spent.
Along with all this genetic research the question of ethics comes up. Issues of engineering animals to be faster, furrer, etc. Knowing a child’s genetic future. What diseases they will have and sex selection. This is an exciting field, with many questions.
edited by cgao on 5/9/2016
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