Chinese scientist He Jiankui who previously claimed he made the world’s first genetically edited babies is now in the spot light again. The Chinese government has ordered a temporary halt to research activities for people involved in the editing of human genes.
He JianKui’s goods intention has met with an international uproar about the ethics and safety of his research. “The nature of this incident is extremely nasty, and relevant bodies have been ordered to temporarily halt the scientific research activities of relevant personnel,” the state news agency Xinhua said, citing the health ministry, science and technology ministry and China Association for Science and Technology.
“Even if the modifications are verified, the procedure was irresponsible and failed to conform with international norms,” the organizing committee of the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing, being held in Hong Kong this week, said in a statement.
What about the babies?
Will this be the end of He JianKui’s work to make human life a better one? If his works do come to a stop, what would be the fate of the two babies Lulu and Nana? Would they be allowed to live a normal life? or subject to a life of a lab rat? Or will their life be put to an end?
The thought of having this two babies lose their life really brings a chill feeling down our spines. Both Lulu and Nana are innocent and they are just babies. Another interesting point is if both Lulu and Nana are allowed to live, would it be public knowledge of who they are? Or would their life be hidden from public knowledge to protect them from being subjected to non-stop unwanted publicity since they would be the world’s first genetically edited babies.
Would there be any concerns if Lulu and Nana grow and and decide to pro-create? Would their spouse need to know their scientific background before they commit to their relationship?
[…] Prof He Jianku published a Youtube video announcing the successful birth of Lulu and Nana in Nov 2018. Few days after the announcement was made, the Chinese government ordered the halt on the professor’s gene-editing research. […]