A Chinese biophysicist convicted of illegally experimenting with human embryos has been granted a research visa for Hong Kong. In fact, according to his own statement, he wants to continue his work on “gene therapies for rare diseases”.
He is currently in contact with “universities, scientific research organizations and companies,” He Jiankui said in Beijing on Tuesday. He shocked the scientific community in 2018 when he announced the birth of genetically engineered twins. A year later, a third child was born with an altered genetic makeup.
Breakthrough in the fight against AIDS?
According to the Chinese researcher, the twins with the pseudonyms “Lula” and “Nana” were conceived through artificial insemination, using the so-called Crispr/Cas9 genetic engineering procedure for genetic modification, also known as “gene scissors”. He explained at the time that he had modified the twins’ DNA in such a way that the two girls were protected against infection by their HIV-infected father. It is a “breakthrough” in the fight against AIDS. The controversial researcher believes that everyone should be free of hereditary diseases.
According to him, the three children lead completely normal lives. He and his team would continue to monitor their health. There are currently plans to set up a charitable foundation to raise money.
Three years in prison
The controversial experiment was met with worldwide rejection. At the end of 2019, he was sentenced to three years in prison for illegal medical methods. At the time, the court ruled that neither he nor two other convicted colleagues had the necessary qualifications to work as doctors. They have knowingly violated Chinese law and the country’s ethical principles. Instead, they would have sought “personal glory and advantage”.
He was released in April 2022. Now he has been granted a research visa for Hong Kong. Kiran Musunuru, senior professor of genetics at the University of Pennsylvania, was “shocked.” “He Jiankui is a convicted criminal” and “incompetent as a scientist,” Musunuru said. “Experimenting on children and inflicting genetic damage on them, as he did, I believe is a form of child abuse.”
Source: Krone
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