SCIENTISTS ACHIEVE IN- BODY GENE EDITING

SCIENTISTS think they have achieved the first gene editing inside the body, altering DNA in adults to try to treat a disease, although it’s too soon to know if this would help. Preliminary results suggest that two men with a rare disorder now have a corrective gene at very low levels, which may not be enough to make the therapy a success. Still, it’s a scientific milestone toward one day doctoring DNA to treat many diseases caused by faulty genes. “This is a first step,” said Dr. Joseph Muenzer of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who helped test the treatment. “It’s just not potent enough.” He gave the results Thursday at a conference in Orlando, Florida, and has consulted for the therapy’s maker, California-based Sangamo Therapeutics. Researchers are working on a stronger version of the treatment. Meanwhile, Stanford University has started a review of interactions that some faculty members had with He Jiankui, the Chinese scientist who claims to have helped make gene- edited babies.