China confirms the birth of gene-edited babies and vows to punish scientist He Jiankui who ‘violated rules to carry out the unethical study for personal fame’
- Investigations reveal He Jiankui had acted on his own and forged review papers
- He organized and handled funding for experiment with no outside assistance
- China confirmed He gene edited human embryos and two baby girls were born
- Another woman is still carrying a gene-edited fetus, Xinhua said on Monday
- Scientist modified the DNA of twins to make them resistant to infection with HIV
- University, where He worked, announced his dismissal following the investigation
Confirming the births, the official Xinhua News Agency said Monday that investigators in the southern province of Guangdong determined Dr. He Jiankui organized and handled funding for the experiment without outside assistance in violation of national guidelines. The university He worked for said he had been fired.
The scientist sparked global controversy in November when he announced in a YouTube video that he had successfully used a gene-editing technology known as CRISPR-Cas9 to alter the embryonic genes of twin girls born that month. One of the mothers gave birth to twins nicknamed ‘Lulu’ and ‘Nana’, the investigators said. Another woman is still carrying a gene-edited fetus. The Xinhua report said all three would remain under observation.
He Jiankui speaks during the Human Genome Editing Conference in Hong Kong on November 28. The official Xinhua News Agency said Monday that investigators in the southern province of Guangdong determined Dr He Jiankui organised and handled funding for the experiment without outside assistance in violation of national guidelines
