China’s gene-editing ‘Frankenstein’ jailed for three years in modified baby case

[TomSea]

China’s gene-editing ‘Frankenstein’ jailed for three years in modified baby case

    He Jiankui and two others convicted on charges related to manipulation of embryos to prevent HIV infection

    Three babies were born as a result of the illegal experiments

Kinling Lo
Published: 1:38pm, 30 Dec, 2019

Chinese scientist He Jiankui, who created the world’s first “gene-edited” babies, has been sentenced to three years in prison and fined 3 million yuan (US$430,000).

He, along with two others named Zhang Renli and Qin Jinzhou, was convicted by a Shenzhen court on Monday on charges related to the “illegally carrying out human embryo gene-editing intended for reproduction”, which led to the births of three genetically edited babies, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The scientist, from the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, claimed in November last year
that he had manipulated the embryos with a gene-editing technique known as CRISPR in a bid to make them immune to HIV infection.


Error 404 (Not Found)!!1

More at: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3043894/chinas-gene-editing-frankenstein-jailed-3-years-modified-baby

[Elderberry]

Radio Free Asia 12/30/2019

A court in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on Monday jailed a scientist for three years after he edited the genes of human embryos to confer immunity to HIV, in a case that sparked a global debate about the ethics of the procedure.

"The judgment in the gene-edited babies case was announced publicly by the Shenzhen Nanshan District People's Court on [Dec.] 30," an official news story posted to the website of the Supreme People's Court said.

"The three defendants, He Jiankui, Zhang Renli, and Qin Jinzhou, were the subject of a criminal investigation ... for jointly carrying out human embryo gene editing and reproductive medical activities for reproductive purposes, constituting the crime of illegal medical practice," it said.

Shenzhen city found He, a former associate professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology, guilty of practicing medicine without a license, and also fined him three million yuan (U.S.$430,000).

More: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/gene-editing-jail-12302019153638.html