Prognosis
Furor Over Gene-Altered Babies Deepens With China Project Halted
- Scientists globally are denouncing gene-editing project
- Chinese researcher defends work in Hong Kong presentation
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The Chinese researcher who claims to have created the world’s first genetically-altered babies revealed a possible second pregnancy had resulted from his project, highlighting the dilemmas facing China’s leaders as they attempt to control a nascent industry racing to dominate genomics research globally.
He Jiankui -- the Shenzhen-based scientist who shocked the world this week by claiming he had altered the genes of the embryos to make them resistant to HIV -- said the study is on hold. The U.S.-trained researcher spoke for the first time at a genetics conference in Hong Kong, where he sought to defend his work and faced probing questions from peers.