The current whereabouts of He Jiankui — the scientist who take to have direct the domain ’s first genetically modify human babies — is unknown . rumor are now circulating that he ’s been detain by the Chinese government .
The last that anyone has seen or heard from He Jiankui was on Wednesday November 28 , after hespokein Hong Kong at the 2d International Summit on Human Genome Editing , the South China Morning Postreports .
The scientist is presently mired in an vivid controversy after claiming to have produce the cosmos ’s first gene - blue-pencil babies . He order he used the CRISPR gene - redaction system to modify the DNA of human embryos , lead in the nascence of twinned girls with an alleged immunity to the AIDS virus . Because gene - editing is still in its nascent microscope stage of growing , He was criticise for conduct the experimentation untimely and for implanting the modify embryos in the mother ’s uterus . To make matters sorry , the clinical trial was done in secret , and He failed to go through the normal channels , among other alleged improprieties .
Asreportedby Newsweek , the Hong Kong - based issue Apple Daily claims the embattle scientist was summoned back to Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen , where he work , at the close of the Hong Kong summit . Also the university ’s president , Chen Shiyi , is apparently under mansion arrest on campus and surety safety have been send on the university land , Apple Daily reports .
These call , however , have not been corroborated . A spokesperson for the the university told the South China Morning Post that , “ Right now nobody ’s information is precise , only the prescribed channel are , ” adding that “ We can not answer any questions regarding the topic right now , but if we have any selective information , we will update it through our prescribed channels . ”
He , who is currently on unpaid leave , did not disclose the details of his research to the university . In a statement released last hebdomad , the university said He ’s work “ in earnest spoil academic and ethic standards , ” remind the organization of an independent citizens committee and investigating into the subject .
Likewise , the Chinese government has also condemn the work , say the experiment “ foil the line of morality and moral principle adhered to by the academic community and was shocking and unacceptable , ” in the words of Xy Nanping , China ’s frailty government minister of science and technology . On Thursday , theChinese government claim to shut down the gene - editing projectand establish its own investigating .
https://jezebel.com/fan-bingbing-is-reportedly-no-longer-in-custody-1829522966
The Taiwanese government has a substance abuse of making citizenry vanish for extended flow of clock time , the most recent model being Chinese actress Fan Bingbing , who went missing this past July . Fan issue a command in former October , at which time she was formallycharged with tax evasion and other offenses . Considered China ’s highest - paid actress , Fan wasordered to pay 884 million yuan($127 million ) to avoid vicious prosecution . She made her first public appearance in late October after months of detainment .
No evidence exists at this prison term to support the hypnotism that He is being confine by the Formosan government , but it ’s a possibility that has to be considered . His rogue experiment is seen by some asa grand embarrassmentto China and its scientist , who are trying to shake accusations that China is now the unregulatedWild West of biomedical research .
Of course , detaining super - copious celebrities for revenue enhancement dodging is not the same thing as detaining a scientist who ’s gone rogue , but it would n’t be out of character reference for the Chinese governance to make an example of He .
This clause has been modified to clarify that Chen Shiyi , and not He , is allegedly under house arrest at the university .
[ South China Morning Post , Newsweek ]
BiologyChinaCRISPRgene editingScience
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