IN A SLICK VIDEO RELEASED ON Nov. 25, Chinese scientist He Jiankui dropped a scientific doozy on the world.
He claimed, and further explained in an interview with a journalist, that his work had produced the world’s first human babies whose genomes had been edited using the technique called CRISPR. The twin girls, born a few weeks ago, harbor genetic changes that are supposed to make them resistant to HIV infection. And they may not be alone; He said another woman is pregnant with a potential third baby with CRISPR altered genes and that he has edited more than a dozen additional embryos that remain frozen.
Those embryos will stay that way for the near future, awaiting the outcome of an investigation by Chinese authorities on the legality and ethics of He’s study, which is currently on hold. And that investigation is just part of the major backlash He faces. Because he published on YouTube rather than in a scientific journal, his claims haven’t been properly validated. Both the university where He is on the faculty (and has been on leave since February) and the hospital where the births occurred denied even knowing his controversial study was taking place.
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