Brian Hanley (microbiologist)

Hanley was 60 years old as of February 2017 and holds a PhD in Microbiology from University of California, Davis.[3][4][5]

In 2009 he founded Butterfly Sciences in Davis, California to develop a gene therapy to treat HIV AIDS using a combination of GHRH[6] and an intracellular vaccine.[5][7] He has numerous articles and blog posts,[8][9][10] and academic publications in epidemiology, biotechnology, and economics, as well as a portfolio of patents.[11]

Hanley says that when embryos merge at an early stage, what happens is that one of them becomes the ectoderm, one the endoderm, and the mesoderm is up for grabs. In rare cases, an embryo may split laterally with all 3 layers. This was found in a bird, for instance. The nervous system forms from a fold in ectoderm. Gonads form from endoderm. And, each organ typically forms from one cell apparently. So each organ will be expected to be nearly 100% from one embryo or the other, except in very rare cases. There is some infiltration of cells from the other embryo, but it's minor. This means that typically, the brain will form from one embryo, and the gonads from a different one.[12]

Hanley appears to be the originator of this theory, that half the time when human embryos merge the brain will be one sex, and gonads and body form will be the opposite sex.[13]

Hanley said that when he could not raise money for Butterfly, he decided to obtain proof of concept by testing the gene therapy on himself. He said that he designed the plasmid containing a gene coding for growth hormone–releasing hormone and had it made by a scientific supply company for around $10,000.[2] However, the total cost of development was over $500,000.[14]

He said that he corresponded with the FDA prior to starting his self-experimentation, and that the FDA told him he needed to file and get approval for an Investigational New Drug (IND) application before he tested the plasmid on a person; not having obtained an IND, he proceeded without it.[2] As there is a long history of self-experimentation in medicine, and the Nuremberg codes, which are the foundation of ethics in medicine, approve of self-experimentation in code number 5,[15] this appears to be no problem.

He submitted his protocol to a private institutional review board (IRB), the Institute of Regenerative and Cellular Medicine in Santa Monica, California.[2] IRBs review proposed clinical research plans.

A physician assisted in administration of the plasmid to Hanley's thigh using electroporation.[2] The plasmids were administered twice: once in summer 2015 and a second larger dose in July 2016.[2][16][17]

Hanley said that the treatment has helped him.[16] Reddit-Capsule results: Testosterone up 20% with a peak increase of 77% . White blood counts up 16% with a peak of 40%. Lipid profile improved: HDLs up to 76, a rise of 20%. LDL down 20%. Triglycerides down 50%, with a low being down 60%. Healing time is much faster. Pulse rate appears to have dropped by 10 beats per minute or more.[12][18]

• Official website of Butterfly Sciences
• Reddit AMA, an online interview