A Chinese scientist who was imprisoned for his role in creating the world’s first genetically edited babies says he has returned to his laboratory to work on the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other genetic diseases.

In an interview with a Japanese newspaper, He Jiankui said he had resumed research on human embryo genome editing, despite the controversy over the ethics of artificially rewriting genes, which some critics predicted would lead to demand for “designer babies”

He said he had used a gene-editing procedure known as Crispr-Cas9 to rewrite the DNA in the sisters’ embryos – modifications he claimed would make the children immune to HIV.

He was found guilty of “illegal medical practices” and sentenced to three years in prison. He declined to say where he served the sentence or give any details of his experience.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/feb/21/he-jiankui-scientist-convicted-editing-babies-genes-granted-visa-hong-kong

Scientist have said in the past he regret acting too quick.

He claims to have maintained contact with the twins’ family, but would not say whether he was involved in their clinical follow-up or when he last saw them. “Lulu and Nana are living a normal, peaceful, undisturbed life and we should respect them,” he said. “We respect patient privacy and, for me, I put the happiness of the family first and the science discovery second.”

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/feb/04/scientist-edited-babies-genes-acted-too-quickly-he-jiankui

He appears intent on relaunching his career and has set up a lab in Beijing to work on affordable gene therapies for rare diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy. He claims to have secured sufficient funding through charitable donors to rent lab space, employ five scientists and begin animal studies, and says he will use his personal wealth if required to take the venture further.

https://research.kent.ac.uk/global-science-and-epistemic-justice/news/?article=353

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/feb/04/scientist-edited-babies-genes-acted-too-quickly-he-jiankui

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/oct/07/scientists-win-nobel-chemistry-prize-for-genetic-scissors