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Editor's note
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The saying “it never rains, it pours” feels apt for Sydney weather this week. But science had a deluge over recent days too.
After around 10 years of planning, and a May 2018 launch from Earth, NASA’s Insight lander arrived safely on Mars on Tuesday morning. (“This never gets old” a relieved NASA spokesperson sighed during the live webcast).
Once the unit’s instruments are deployed and activated over the coming days and months, Australian scientist Katarina Miljkovic will be one of the experts involved in analysing data to reveal the interior of Mars. It’s just the latest step in humanity’s long obsession with the red planet, says CSIRO’s Paulo de Souza.
Also making news in science this week, scientist He Jiankui told the world he had used genetic tool CRISPR to edit human embryos, leading to the birth of twin girls. The unverified work bypassed typical ethics and peer-review processes.
Dimitri Perrin and Gaetan Burgio describe how this news broke – and the shock waves that rippled out over the science community. When, several days later, He Jiankui presented some of his raw data and answered questions at a global human genome summit, Merlin Crossley reported back on the incredible sense of tension in the room, and what might happen next.
It’s been a big week.
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Sarah Keenihan
Section Editor: Science + Technology
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Genetically designed babies
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Jiankui He claims he has used CRISPR to edit the genomes of twin girls.
Merlin Crossley
Merlin Crossley, UNSW
The world seemed to be inching forward with CRISPR gene editing technology – but suddenly the forbidden fruit has been plucked, and some even worry that the CRISPR tree has been cut down.
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The science explained
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Dimitri Perrin, Queensland University of Technology; Gaetan Burgio, Australian National University
We don't know anything about the health of the baby girls who are reported to have been born. But it's clear scientists around the world are shocked.
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Françoise Baylis, Dalhousie University; Graham Dellaire, Dalhousie University; Landon J Getz, Dalhousie University
Chinese researcher, Jainkui He claims to have created the world's first genome-edited twins. Such action would pose unknown risks to the lives of these children and to humanity as a whole.
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Merlin Crossley, UNSW
CRISPR harnesses the natural defence mechanisms of some bacteria to cut human DNA strands. Then the DNA strand either heals itself or we inject new DNA to mend the gap. This is gene editing.
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Joyce Harper, UCL
A Chinese scientist claims to have edited human DNA to make us more resistant to HIV. Here's why that's not good news.
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The Red Planet
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Artist’s impression of InSight after its scientific instruments have been deployed.
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Bob Myhill, University of Bristol
From turning on instruments to gathering the first data, the next few months will be busy for Mars scientists.
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Paulo de Souza, CSIRO
Mars has long captured our imagination, from claims of canals to Martian attacks and now our latest NASA exploration to look inside the red planet.
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David Weintraub, Vanderbilt University
NASA's InSight Mars lander touches down Nov. 26, part of a careful robotic approach to exploring the red planet. But human exploration of Mars will inevitably introduce Earth life. Are you OK with that?
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From the archives
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Katarina Miljkovic, Curtin University
What is Mars made of? We hear from a scientist who will be part of the team analysing 'marsquake' seismic data and orbital imagery from the InSight mission to the red planet.
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Paulo de Souza, CSIRO
I've worked with NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Project for 16 years. If you got yourself a ticket to Mars, here's how I'd advise you to prepare. And by the way, any mistake could kill you.
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Helen Maynard-Casely, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
Compared to Earth, more "oomph" is required to bring magma to the surface of Mars, and this is probably why we haven't seen any recent eruptions on the red planet.
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Briardo Llorente, Macquarie University
If humans are to live on Mars they will need a stable supply of food. Earth plants are not suited to the Mars climate but we can engineer plants that are.
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Featured jobs
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RMIT University — Melbourne, Victoria
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James Cook University — Townsville City, Queensland
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University of Melbourne — Parkville, Victoria
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La Trobe University — Melbourne, Victoria
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Featured events
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Dr Chau Chak Wing Building, Level 8 14-28 Ultimo Road, Ultimo, New South Wales, 2007, Australia — University of Technology Sydney
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The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia — University of Sydney
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Deakin Downtown, Level 12, Tower 2 Collins Square, 727 Collins Street, , Docklands, Victoria, 3008, Australia — Deakin University
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14-28 Ultimo Road, Ultimo, New South Wales, 2007, Australia — University of Technology Sydney
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