US researchers begin CRISPR gene editing trials on humans

The first human trials of the controversial gene editing technology called CRISPR has officially started in the US.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are conducting a powerful experiment on cancer patients. As NPR reports, one patient had multiple myeloma and another one had sarcoma. Both the patients had relapsed after undergoing the standard treatment.

CRISPR is a technique in which modifications are made at the DNA level, with the potential to cure many diseases. A Chinese scientist, He Jiankui, used the technique to edit genes in human embryos that are now the world’s first CRISPR twins.