Report: China May Soon Release Scientist Who Gene-Edited Babies

Chinese biophysicist He Jiankui — sentenced to three years in prison in December 2019 for “illegal medical practice” after using the CRISPR gene-editing system to alter the DNA of human embryos — may be “released” from prison in the “near future,” China state-run Global Times reported on Monday citing unnamed sources.

He claimed in November 2018 that he and his scientific team at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China, had used CRISPR technology to edit the genomes of a number of human embryos “to disrupt a gene that codes for a protein that allows HIV to enter immune cells.”

He revealed the action while confirming the birth of “the world’s first genetically edited babies — twin girls,” the Associated Press (AP) reported at the time.

“He said he altered embryos for seven couples during fertility treatments, with one pregnancy resulting thus far. He said his goal was not to cure or prevent an inherited disease, but to try to bestow a trait that few people naturally have — an ability to resist possible future infection with HIV, the AIDS virus,” the news agency relayed after conducting an exclusive interview with the Chinese researcher. – READ MORE