A researcher performs a CRISPR/Cas9 process, a gene-editing tool that is cheap, easy-to-use and powerful. Photo: Gregor Fischer/DPA/Zuma Press By Preetika Rana and Preetika Rana The Wall Street Journal Biography @Preetika_Rana preetika.rana@wsj.com Wenxin Fan Wenxin Fan The Wall Street Journal Biography @xinwenfan wenxin.fan@wsj.com Nov. 26, 2018 1:51 pm ET
HONG KONG—A Chinese scientist claims to have produced the world’s first genetically modified babies, stirring alarm among doctors who warn such experiments using nascent DNA-editing technology pose too many health and ethical risks.
He Jiankui, an associate professor at Shenzhen-based Southern University of Science and Technology, said that he oversaw the pregnancy and the birth this month of twin girls