Chinese scientist He Jiankui, who went missing after the recent announcement of a successful operation to modify the genes of children - these were the first genetically modified twins born - has contacted. At the moment, he is under guard in a locked room in a guest house on the territory of the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, of which he was a member. The New York Times showed a video of the scientist alive and well and saying hello.
At the moment, He Jiankui is in custody: the balcony is closed with bars, and people in civilian clothes are standing at the entrance to the apartment. Nothing is known about which department they serve, and it was not possible to get any other comments either. However, the scientist is allowed to communicate by email and telephone. They say he's fine.
Gene modification in China
In late November, it became known that a Chinese scientist edited the genes of newborn twin girls. The work raised a lot of buzz in the biological community, not least because of the questionable ethical background. However, there is no independent confirmation of the successful outcome of the operation yet.
Colleagues criticized He's experiment as unethical, and China, as it turned out, took the scientist under protection and initiated an investigation into the experiment.
Recently, the Chinese authorities have also extended the social ranking system to the wayward scientists. Perhaps due to Jiankui's irresponsible actions. The essence of the program is to mark people who violate laws, regulations or social norms, and then restrict their access to certain services and programs, such as obtaining loans.
Ilya Khel
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