China will be the first country to test CRISPR gene editing techniques in humans. Regulators have given researchers from Sichuan University’s West China Hospital approval to modify genes of lung cancer patients who have failed conventional cancer treatments. The researchers will extract genetic material from patients, turn off the PD-1 gene that prevents the patient’s immune system from attacking the cancer, multiply the cells in the lab, and reintroduce the modified cells into the patient.
