Inside STAT: Russian authorities seek to ease fears of a scientist going rogue

RUSSIAN SCIENTIST DENIS REBRIKOV. (PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: ALEX HOGAN/STAT; PHOTO: SCREEN CAPTURE VIA YOUTUBE)

The Russian health ministry is putting a hurdle in front of one of the country’s scientist’s plans to create the next “CRISPR baby.” Russian authorities have known about molecular biologist Denis Rebrikov’s work for a year — he has also shared that he is considering implanting gene-edited embryos in women, much in the same way that Chinese scientist He Jiankui did last year. But a recent statement from the health ministry said that it considers such clinical applications of the technology on human embryos to be “premature.” Rebrikov would need the agency’s approval to proceed. The ministry’s reluctance to endorse the experiment is also significant given that the Russian Academy of Sciences has yet to publicly state its stance on CRISPR editing in humans. STAT contributor Olga Dobrovidova has more from Moscow here.