An investigation by authorities in China has concluded that a scientist in the country did create the world’s first gene-edited babies.
According to a report in China’s Xinhua news agency, He Jiankui performed human embryo gene-editing activities despite them being “officially banned in the country.” The report said He, along with the other researchers involved, would be punished in accordance with the law. The case has now been handed over to the Ministry of Public Security.
He, an associate professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology in the Guangdong province, announced the world’s first gene-edited babies at the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing in Hong Kong in November last year. He said he had altered the DNA of seven human embryos to make them more resistant to HIV and that this experiment had resulted in the birth of twin girls…
