The scientist who led an experiment to create gene-edited babies has been criticised for acting unethically towards the couples and infants involved
Mark Schiefelbein/AP/REX/Shutterstock
THE worldwide shock over the announcement of the birth of gene-edited twins isn’t just because it may be a scientific first. The scientist who led the work, He Jiankui, has also been widely criticised for acting unethically towards the couples and the babies involved in the trial.
The biggest concern is that He used a technique that hasn’t had enough safety testing. One of the main known problems with the CRISPR technique is that it can cause unintended “off-target” mutations elsewhere in the DNA that …