The news is likely to spark global outcry, as people question the moral and ethical questions concerning the bombshell experiment.
A team at the Southern University of Science and Technology, in Shenzhen, has been recruiting couples in an effort to create the first gene-edited babies.
The team planned to eliminate a gene called CCR5 to make the offspring resistant to HIV, smallpox and cholera.
They have been using a powerful gene editing tool, CRISPR, to create “genetically modified” human babies.
The Chinese scientist behind the endeavour, He Jiankui of Shenzhen, said he hoped to produce one of the biggest “stand-out” breakthroughs in the field by achieving his teams’ goal.
He wrote in an ethics statement last year: “In this ever more competitive global pursuit of applications for gene editing, we hope to be a stand-out.”
More to follow…