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He Jiankui

In November 2018, Chinese scientist He Jiankui shocked the world when he announced, first on YouTube(link is external) and then at an international scientific gathering(link is external) in Hong Kong, that he had used Crispr(link is external) to alter the genetic makeup of human embryos, which were used to establish pregnancies and resulted in the birth of the world’s first(link is external) gene-edited babies(link is external)

Backlash against He was harsh and swift. Members of the scientific community condemned his experiments as unethical(link is external) and voiced concerns over the babies’ health(link is external), about which little is known today. The Chinese government suspended his research(link is external), saying he violated medical regulations. In December 2019, a Chinese court found He guilty(link is external) of illegal medical practices and sentenced him to three years' imprisonment. In light of He’s experiment, China has since adopted regulations(link is external) prohibiting the modification of human embryos for reproductive purposes. He was released from prison in April. 

In recent months, He has taken to Twitter(link is external) and the Chinese social media platform Weibo to publicize his next steps. Previously a researcher at Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, He says...