Research scientist who claims to have created the first babies with edited genetics

WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES.– The reaction in China has been swift and furious.

A Chinese scientist who claimed to have collaborated in the creation of the first babies with genetic edited government agencies and his own university are currently investigating this project.

He Jiankui, a 34-year-old associate professor in Shenzhen, in the south of the country, said his lab was using the powerful tool of CRISPR genetic editing edit human embryos and that the technique was applied to two twins born this month.

The complaint is not independently confirmed, but scientists and authorities have quickly condemned the experiment, which it describes as ethics and ethics.

The National Commission of Health On Monday, he ordered local authorities in Guangdong Province, where Shenzhen is located, to investigate his conduct. The Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported Tuesday that if births were confirmed, his case would be treated "in accordance with the laws and regulations in force". It is unclear whether he could face criminal charges.

He is an employer, the University of Science and Technology of the South, said in a statement that he was unaware of the researcher's genetics work in genetic publishing and that He had opened a probe. The school said its investigations were "a serious violation of ethics and academic standards".

I have also faced inquiries from the Expert Committee on Medical Ethics of Shenzhen City and the academic division of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

His research team included his former adviser to Rice University: physics professor Michael Deem, who serves on the scientific advisory board of two He gene companies.

Rice said that she had undertaken an investigation into Deem's involvement.

"Until now, the main reaction in China is to condemn and censor this work," said Jing-Bao Nie, expert in Chinese bioethics at the University of Otago, New Zealand.