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China Halts Work of Scientists Who Allegedly Edited Babies’ Genes

The country’s vice minister of science and technology called the experiment “shocking and unacceptable.”

The Chinese government halted the work of a medical team that claims to have successfully edited the genes of twin girls to make them resistant to AIDS virus infection, the Associated Press reports. Chinese Vice Minister of Science and Technology Xu Nanping reportedly told the country’s state broadcaster the government opposed the scientists’ actions, and called the experiment “shocking and unacceptable.” He also said the country has launched an investigation into the matter. The AP reports researcher He Jiankui claimed his experiment was successful at an international conference on gene editing in Hong Kong earlier this week. The claim reportedly prompted scientists to condemn the experiment, and “universities and government groups” have launched investigations into the matter. His claim has yet to be independently confirmed, but the researcher said his raw data will be “made available for third party review” soon.

‘DEEPLY DISTURBING’

Leading Scientists Condemn China’s Baby Gene-Edit Experiment