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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Science
Justin McCurry in Osaka

Scientist who gene-edited babies is back in lab and ‘proud’ of past work despite jailing

He Jiankui
He Jiankui told the Guardian in 2023 that he had acted ‘too quickly’ by pressing ahead with modifying the DNA of embryos, which led to the birth of genetically modified twins, but stopped short of voicing regret or apologising. Photograph: SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

A Chinese scientist who was imprisoned for his role in creating the world’s first genetically edited babies says he has returned to his laboratory to work on the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other genetic diseases.

In an interview with a Japanese newspaper, He Jiankui said he had resumed research on human embryo genome editing, despite the controversy over the ethics of artificially rewriting genes, which some critics predicted would lead to demand for “designer babies”.

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