He Jiankui: The world's first "test-tube babies" are alive…

Disgraced scientist He Jiankui, who was released from prison a year ago for illegally editing the human genome, said his patients are doing well. Three children whose DNA was changed using the CRISPR-Cas9 tool at the embryonic stage are developing normally. Their identities are still kept secret - and the Chinese government does not intend to disclose this information, which has already led to a number of incidents in the scientific world.

The good intentions of Jiankui, who wanted to change the CCR5 gene in order to develop immunity to HIV in children, were not appreciated by most scientists and doctors in the world. Yes, and as Jiankui himself recently admitted, he "hurried" with his experiment. I took the chance without properly assessing all the consequences. Since there is a high probability that interventions in the genome of children have generated new mutations that are still unknown to science.

Because of the veil of secrecy, Jiankui's statement cannot be confirmed or denied. However, it is known that he was entrusted with the creation of a closed laboratory in Beijing, which will specialize in gene therapy for the treatment of congenital ailments. Probably, the actions of the scientist were crowned with success, and therefore the Chinese authorities approved further work in this direction.