China suspends all projects of gene-edited baby scientist He Jiankui, and says those involved will be punished
- International experts call claims genetically modified children were born ‘unexpected and deeply disturbing’
- Organising committee of Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing wants independent verification
China’s Ministry of Science and Technology has ordered research institutes to suspend all the scientific projects of Chinese scientist He Jiankui, who claims to have created the world’s first gene-edited babies.
The group of experts, who make up the organising committee of the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing, described the claim as “unexpected and deeply disturbing”.
The scientist from Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen faced his peers and the public when speaking at a session of the summit, which was held in Hong Kong, on Wednesday.
Xu Nanping, the vice-minister of science and technology, said his ministry had asked research institutes where He works to stop all of his scientific projects.
“China has banned reproductive use of gene editing in human embryos,” Xu said. “The experiment has violated laws and regulations in China.”
The top official said the ministry was firmly against the experiment of genetically edited babies, and will punish researchers involved in the project once the investigation is completed.
