--- title: CRISPR Human Trial Approved By Chinese Scientists description: The trial will enroll people with lung cancer who have not found other treatment canonical: https://time.com/4417628/chinese-human-crispr-trial/ author: Abigail Abrams article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-21T20:08:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-06T09:42:53.484Z article:section: Health og:title: Chinese Scientists Will Begin First Human CRISPR Gene-Editing Trial og:description: The trial will enroll people with lung cancer who have not found other treatment og:url: https://time.com/4417628/chinese-human-crispr-trial/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9fa897d8b12af03f/69889ea20a4a2219229ca913/crispr.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5000 og:image:height: 2813 og:image:alt: CRISPR og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Chinese Scientists Will Begin First Human CRISPR Gene-Editing Trial twitter:description: The trial will enroll people with lung cancer who have not found other treatment twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9fa897d8b12af03f/69889ea20a4a2219229ca913/crispr.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Chinese Scientists Will Begin First Human CRISPR Gene-Editing Trial > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=09c15ea8-1d9f-4856-bed5-15fec3252bbb&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: How CRISPR DNA-Editing Works [Watch (HLS stream): How CRISPR DNA-Editing Works](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xeP3Y87P.m3u8) (2:22)  _Published 2016-06-22. A brief guide to a ground-breaking new technology._ by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Jul 21, 2016 8:08 PM UTC by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Jul 21, 2016 8:08 PM UTC A group of Chinese scientists will be the [first in the world](http://www.nature.com/news/chinese-scientists-to-pioneer-first-human-crispr-trial-1.20302) to use the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology on humns in a clinical trial set to begin next month. The team plans to start by testing cells in people with lung cancer, the science journal _Nature_ reported. The trial received approval from the ethical review board at Sichuan University’s West China Hospital in Chengdu on July 6. CRISPR is a powerful technology that has the [potential to change human lives](http://time.com/4377130/crispr-genome-editing/) by allowing scientists to remove or edit genetic mutations responsible for incurable diseases. The Chinese trial will include patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer and who have not seen success from chemotherapy, radiation therapy and other treatments. “Treatment options are very limited,” Lu You, an oncologist leading the trial team, told _Nature_. “This technique is of great promise in bringing benefits to patients, especially the cancer patients whom we treat every day.” Other teams have run human clinical trials using a different gene-editing technique. A team in the United States is also planning a human clinical trial that would use CRISPR-Cas9 to treat cancer. The National Institutes of Health approved that project last month, [_Nature_ reported](http://www.nature.com/news/first-crispr-clinical-trial-gets-green-light-from-us-panel-1.20137) at the time, but it still needs the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a university review board to sign off. U.S. researchers said they expect that trial could begin by the end of 2016. ## Transcript To understand CRISPR gene editing, let's start with what is DNA. Handed down from generation to generation, every cell in your body carries a copy of your genetic code called your genome. It's made up of DNA. It's like a book that describes A book made up of three billion letters arranged in different sequences that make up DNA words. These words can influence the traits that you take on, athletic, intelligent, gifted. Recently, computers have deciphered the entire human genos and have identified genetic mutations behind diseases that currently have no cure [ MUSIC ] With Crisper we can edit DNA. Crisper is a man- made molecule that can be programmed to find mutated or diseased DNA. [ MUSIC ] It's also equipped with a pair of molecular scissors. So once Crisper finds it's target DNA, it can snip that section from the genome. [ MUSIC ] Sometimes the body can repair itself. Other times, scientists can patch it with corrected letters. If this happens in eggs, sperm, or embryonic cells, the changes will be permanent and passed on to future generations. Crisper is already showing promise. It's being used to cut out the HIV virus. Eliminate Huntington's disease from the brain and even alter a mosquito's genome so it's less likely to spread malaria and zikka. Chrisper could lead to a new world of treatments, curing diseases and even eliminating them. So future generations won't ever have to suffer from them again. 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