Image copyright Getty Images Image caption People in rural areas continue to prize boys over girls

Police in China have detained 75 people in connection with a widespread network that illegally determined the gender of unborn babies.

The illegal service - aimed at expectant parents wanting male children - smuggled fetal blood samples to Hong Kong for gender testing, officials say.

It operated across much of China and brought in $30m (£25m).

Despite decades of campaigning, Chinese families, particularly in rural areas, continue to prize boys above girls.

At least 300 people were involved in the illegal service, the authorities in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang said.

The size of the operation and the money involved reveal the desperation of the parents who wanted the service, BBC Asia Pacific regional editor Celia Hatton says.

China ended its one-child policy last year, which was seen as contributing to the gender imbalance in China.

But Chinese population officials this week warned that that imbalance, 113 boys for every 100 girls, would remain for years to come. </s> The Chinese authorities are holding scientist He Jiankui wholly responsible for creating the world’s first gene-edited babies.

He had announced their birth in November, after which the authorities announced an investigation into the matter.

A team of investigators told the official Xinhua news agency on Monday that a preliminary investigation had concluded that He had “organised a project team that included foreign staff, which intentionally avoided surveillance and used technology of uncertain safety and effectiveness to perform human embryo gene-editing activity with the purpose of reproduction, which is officially banned in the country”.

Between March 2017 and November 2018, He forged ethical review papers and recruited eight couples to participate in his experiment, resulting in two pregnancies.

Chinese scientist He Jiankui says he is proud of genetic experiments



One of the mothers gave birth to twins nicknamed “Lulu” and “Nana”, the investigators said. Another woman is still carrying a gene-edited fetus.

They also said that He, his staff and organisations related to his project would be punished according to laws and regulations.

The Guangdong government will keep the twins under medical observation. </s> Hong Kong (CNN) The Chinese government has ordered an "immediate investigation" into the alleged delivery of the world's first genetically edited babies, as experts worldwide voiced outrage at such use of the technology.

The pushback comes amid claims made online by Chinese scientist He Jiankui that twin girls had been born with DNA altered to make them resistant to HIV, a groundbreaking move that is likely to spark significant ethical questions around gene editing and so-called designer babies.

He, a professor at Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, claims that his lab had been editing embryos' genetic codes for seven couples undergoing in-vitro fertilization.

In a video posted to YouTube on Monday , the Chinese researcher said that one of the pregnancies had been successful and that ostensibly healthy twin girls Lulu and Nana had been born "a few weeks ago."

He claims that he used a tool known as CRISPR-cas9, which can insert or deactivate certain genes. In his YouTube video, He describes the procedure as having "removed the doorway through which HIV enters."

He's claims have neither been independently verified nor peer-reviewed. Editing the genes of embryos intended for pregnancy is banned in many counties, including the United States. In the UK, editing of embryos may be permitted for research purposes with strict regulatory approval. It is unknown whether the procedure is safe or, if used in pregnancy, whether it can have unintended consequences for the babies later in life or for future generations.

China has invested heavily in gene-editing technology, with the government bankrolling research into a number of world "firsts," including the first use of the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 in humans in 2016 and the first reported use of gene editing technology to modify nonviable human embryos in 2015.

More recently researchers in China claimed to have bred healthy mice from same-sex parents, using gene editing technology.

But in a statement posted Tuesday morning, China's National Health Commission said that it had "immediately requested the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission to seriously investigate and verify" the claims made by He Jiankui.

The statement follows moves by the Chinese hospital named in He's ethical approval documents, Shenzhen Harmonicare Women's and Children's Hospital, to distance itself from involvement in the procedures.

"We can ensure that the research wasn't conducted in our hospital nor were the babies born here," a hospital representative told CNN. The hospital confirmed that two of the doctors named in He's documents work at the hospital and suggested that an internal investigation was underway.

An initial investigation by the hospital said that signatures on He's ethics review form are suspected to be forged. The hospital has never convened an ethics committee meeting on it, according to a statement on its WeChat account , and the facility will ask police to intervene and investigate it and hold related people accountable by law.

The Shenzhen Health and Family Planning Commission denounced the legitimacy of the hospital ethics committee and the review process that approved the application. It confirmed that an investigation was launched Monday to "verify the authenticity of the ethical review of the research reported by media."

He's University, Southern University of Science and Technology, said in a statement that the researcher has been on leave since February 1.

"The research work was carried out outside the school by Associate Professor He Jiankui. He did not report to the school or the department of biology. The university and the biology department are not aware of it," the institution said, adding that "the Academic Committee of the Department of Biology believes that it seriously violates academic ethics and academic norms."

A 'huge blow' to Chinese research

A joint statement issued by more than 120 Chinese scientists on the Chinese social media site Weibo condemns the human genome-editing research.

"The medical ethics review exists in the name only. Directly experimenting on human is nothing but crazy ... as soon as a living human is produced, no one could predict what kind of impact it will bring, as the modified inheritable substance will inevitably blend into human genome pool," they wrote, adding that the trial is a "huge blow" to the reputation of Chinese biomedical research. "It's extremely unfair to Chinese scientist who are diligent, innovative and defending the bottom line of scientific ethics."

Julian Savulescu, director of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, described the alleged births as "genetic Russian Roulette."

"If true, this experiment is monstrous," he said. "The embryos were healthy. No known diseases. Gene editing itself is experimental and is still associated with off-target mutations, capable of causing genetic problems early and later in life, including the development of cancer.

"There are many effective ways to prevent HIV in healthy individuals: For example, protected sex. And there are effective treatments if one does contract it," Savulescu said.

Joyce Harper, a professor in genetics and human embryology at the Institute for Women's Health at University College London, described the alleged research "premature, dangerous and irresponsible," calling for public debate and legislation.

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"Before this procedure comes anywhere near clinical practice, we need years of work to show that meddling with the genome of the embryo is not going to cause harm to the future person," she said in a statement.

Despite ethical concerns in the West, a recent study suggested that the Chinese public is broadly in favor of using gene-editing for medical purposes. An online survey conducted by Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou found that more than two-thirds of the 4,771 people surveyed (575 of whom reportedly have HIV), supported its use in treating diseases, according to the state-run tabloid Global Times.

"(Chinese people) have a high willingness to use of gene in disease prevention and treatment," Liang Chen, a professor at Sun Yat-Sen University was quoted as saying. "This suggests that the research of gene editing in China not only has a promising potential, but also is responding to the public's needs." </s> Chinese authorities appear to have confirmed a scientist’s unpublished claim that he helped make the world’s first gene-edited babies and that a second pregnancy is underway, and say he could face consequences for his work.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency said Monday that investigators in Guangdong province determined that the scientist, He Jiankui (HUH JEEN-qway), evaded supervision of his work and violated research norms because he wanted to be famous.

The report said He acted alone and will be punished for any violations of the law, although it didn’t say which regulations he may have broken.

The scientist stunned the world in November by claiming that he had altered the DNA of twin girls at conception to try to help them resist infection with the AIDS virus.

He’s work has been widely criticized as unethical because of questions about whether the participants truly understood the risks.

It is also considered medically dangerous because of possible harm to other genes and the DNA changes can be passed to future generations.

There has been no independent verification of his claim, first reported by The Associated Press, and it has not yet been published, although He gave details at an international gene editing conference in Hong Kong.

Some have even speculated that it could be a hoax.

But the Chinese investigation appears to confirm it.

The Xinhua report says the twins and those involved in the second pregnancy will remain under medical observation with regular visits supervised by government health departments.

“It does sound like they have confirmed the existence of the babies,” said Dr. Kiran Musunuru, a genetics journal editor from the University of Pennsylvania who reviewed materials He provided at the AP’s request.

Given that the Chinese investigation alleged ethical lapses, He’s work might not be published by a scientific journal, but “the information needs to be made available so we know exactly what was done,” Musunuru said. “It could be as simple as putting it on the web.”

The scientist, He, could not be reached for comment.

It’s unclear how many edited embryos remain from He’s experiment and what will become of them.

He’s school, Southern University of Science and Technology of China in Shenzhen, and the Chinese ministries of health and science also have said they are investigating and have put a halt to his work.

Gene editing for reproductive purposes is effectively banned in the U.S. and most of Europe.

In China, ministerial guidelines prohibit embryo research that “violates ethical or moral principles.” </s> Chinese officials this week denounced the actions of a scientist who claims his lab made the world’s first genetically edited babies.

As reported by the Xinhua News Agency, researcher He Jiankui defied government bans and conducted the experiment “in pursuit of personal fame and gain.”

An investigation by the Guangdong Province Task Force suggests that He intentionally dodged supervision, raising funds and organizing lab techs to carry out the human embryo revision that is “explicitly banned” by regulations, Xinhua said.

In late November, He announced the birth of twin girls whose DNA was modified to protect against future HIV infection.

The project allegedly dates back to June 2016, when He began organizing a team (which included overseas members).

According to results of the investigation, He used a fake ethical review certificate to lure eight volunteer couples for procedures between March 2017 and November 2018.

Most famously, parents Grace and Mark welcomed “two beautiful Chinese girls” last month.

Grace began her pregnancy via in vitro fertilization (IVF)—but with a twist: After inseminating her eggs, an embryologist sent in “a little bit of protein,” plus instructions for a gene surgery intended to protect the girls from future HIV infection.

The news set the scientific community alight: an angry mob of researchers carried proverbial pitchforks and torches, calling He’s conduct unethical—a feeling echoed by the independent committee assigned to investigate the incident.

“The activities seriously violated ethical principles and scientific integrity and breached relevant regulations of China,” the probe said, as reported by Xinhua.

The Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, from which the scientist was on non=paid leave from teaching through January 2021, made it very clear the project was conducted off campus and without official approval.

On Monday, the institution released a statement announcing that, effective immediately, SUSTech “will rescind the work contract with Dr. He Jiankui and terminate any of his teaching and research activities.”

He—apparently MIA since making an appearance at the second International Summit on Human Genome Editing in early December—as well as other relevant personnel and organizations, are expected to face undisclosed punishment for their actions.

The babies and pregnant volunteer, meanwhile, will receive medical observation and follow-up visits.
• None Can This Gene-Edited Wild Plant Become the Next Strawberry? </s> Beijing : A serial killer dubbed China´s "Jack the Ripper" for the way he mutilated several of his 11 female victims was executed Thursday morning, three decades after the first murder, the court which sentenced him said.



The court in the northwest city of Baiyin, Gansu province, which handed him the death sentence in March last year announced on the Twitter-like Weibo that it had been carried out.

China´s supreme court had approved the execution, it said.

Gao Chengyong, 54, robbed, raped and murdered 11 women and girls between 1988 and 2002 in Gansu and the neighbouring Inner Mongolia region.

In March 2018 he was found guilty by the Baiyin City Intermediate People´s Court and handed death sentences for both robbery and intentional homicide, and lesser sentences for rape and dishonouring corpses.

Gao targeted young women wearing red and followed them home, often cutting their throats and mutilating their bodies, according to state media reports. The youngest victim was eight years old.

Some victims had their reproductive organs removed, the Beijing Youth Daily said when Gao was arrested in 2016.

"To satisfy his perverted desire to dishonour and sully corpses, many of his female victims´ corpses were damaged and violated," the court said on Weibo when he was convicted.

"The motives of the defendant´s crimes were despicable, his methods extremely cruel, the nature of the acts vile and the details of the crimes serious."

Police had been hunting Gao for years.

"The suspect has a sexual perversion and hates women," police said in 2004 when they linked the crimes for the first time and offered a reward of 200,000 yuan ($30,000) for information leading to an arrest.

"He´s reclusive and unsociable, but patient," according to the police profiling at the time.

A lead in the case came when police collected and tested the DNA of one of Gao´s relatives over a separate minor crime, the China Daily had reported.

Police concluded the killer they had been hunting for 28 years was a relation, and Gao´s DNA matched the murderer´s.

The original Jack the Ripper was a serial killer active in east London in the late Victorian era, who is widely believed to have murdered five women, mutilating several of them. Those killings have never been solved. </s> A Chinese hospital has denied involvement in the alleged delivery of the world’s first genetically-edited babies and experts worldwide have voiced outrage at such use of the technology.

The push back comes amid claims made online by scientist He Jiankui that twin girls had been born with DNA altered to make them resistant to HIV, a ground-breaking move that could potentially spark huge scientific and ethical dilemmas.

He, a professor at Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, claims that his lab had been editing embryos’ genetic codes for seven couples undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

In a video posted to YouTube Monday, the Chinese researcher said that one of the pregnancies had been successful, and that ostensibly healthy twin girls Lulu and Nana had been born “a few weeks ago.”

He claims that he used a tool known as CRISPR-cas9, which can insert or deactivate certain genes. In his YouTube video, He describes the procedure as having “removed the doorway through which HIV enters.”

But the hospital named in He’s ethical approval documents, Shenzhen Harmonicare Women’s and Children’s Hospital, has denied involvement in the procedures.

“We can ensure that the research wasn’t conducted in our hospital nor were the babies born here,” a hospital spokesperson told CNN. The hospital confirmed that two of the doctors named in He’s documents work at the hospital, and suggested that an internal investigation was underway.

The Shenzhen Health and Family Planning Commission denounced the legitimacy of the hospital ethics committee and the review process that approved the application. It confirmed an investigation was launched Monday to “verify the authenticity of the ethical review of the research reported by media.”

He’s University, Southern University of Science and Technology, said in a statement that the researcher has been on leave since February 1, 2018.

“The research work was carried out outside the school by Associate Professor He Jiankui. He did not report to the school or the department of biology. The university and the biology department are not aware of it,” the institution said, adding that “the Academic Committee of the Department of Biology believes that it seriously violates academic ethics and academic norms.”

He’s claims have neither been independently verified nor peer-reviewed. But if true, the procedure would raise significant ethical questions around gene-editing and so-called “designer” babies.

Editing the genes of embryos intended for pregnancy is banned in many counties, including the US. In the UK editing of embryos may be permitted for research purposes with strict regulatory approval. It is unknown whether the procedure is safe or, if used in pregnancy, whether it can have unintended consequences for the babies later in life, or for future generations.

A joint statement has been issued by more than 120 Chinese scientists on the Chinese social media site Wiebo condemning the human genome-editing research.

“The medical ethics review exists in the name only. Directly experimenting on human is nothing but crazy… as soon as a living human is produced, no one could predict what kind of impact it will bring, as the modified inheritable substance will inevitably blend into human genome pool,” they wrote, adding that the trial is a “huge blow” to the reputation of Chinese biomedical research. “It’s extremely unfair to Chinese scientist who are diligent, innovative and defending the bottom line of scientific ethics.”

Julian Savulescu, director of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, described the alleged births as “genetic Russian Roulette.”

“If true, this experiment is monstrous,” he said. “The embryos were healthy. No known diseases. Gene editing itself is experimental and is still associated with off-target mutations, capable of causing genetic problems early and later in life, including the development of cancer.

“There are many effective ways to prevent HIV in healthy individuals: For example, protected sex. And there are effective treatments if one does contract it,” Savulescu said.

Joyce Harper, a professor in genetics and human embryology at the Institute for Women’s Health, UCL, described the alleged research “premature, dangerous and irresponsible,” calling for public debate and legislation.

“Before this procedure comes anywhere near clinical practice, we need years of work to show that meddling with the genome of the embryo is not going to cause harm to the future person,” she said in a statement.

Yalda Jamshidi, senior lecturer in human genetics, St George’s, University of London pointed out that such controversial research is not necessary for preventing HIV. “We already have ways to prevent HIV infection and available treatments should it occur. We also do not need gene editing to ensure it isn’t passed on to offspring,” she said. “We know very little about the long term effects, and most people would agree that experimentation on humans for an avoidable condition just to improve our knowledge is morally and ethically unacceptable.

Despite ethical concerns in the West, a recent study suggested that the Chinese public is broadly in favor of using gene-editing for medical purposes. An online survey conducted by Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou found that more than two-thirds of the 4,771 people surveyed (575 of whom reportedly have HIV), supported its use in treating diseases, according to the state-run tabloid Global Times.

“(Chinese people) have a high willingness to use of gene in disease prevention and treatment,” Liang Chen, a professor at Sun Yat-Sen University is quoted as saying. “This suggests that the research of gene editing in China not only has a promising potential, but also is responding to the public’s needs.” </s> After rocking the scientific community by helping to create ‘AIDS-resistant’ children using banned gene-editing techniques, Chinese investigators have confirmed that Dr He Jiankui will be punished for his experiment.

“This behavior seriously violates ethics and the integrity of scientific research, is in serious violation of relevant national regulations, and creates a pernicious influence at home and abroad,” a report by Chinese state news agency Xinhua stated.

The scientist made headlines across the world in 2018 by claiming to have helped make the world’s first gene-edited babies, flouting scientific consensus regarding the ethical implications of manipulating genes that would have intergenerational and somewhat unknown consequences.

The investigating team set up by the Health Commission of China in southern Guangdong province found that He had self-funded and privately organized a team to carry out the procedure using CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing techniques to “seek personal fame and profit,” according to the report.

He reportedly assembled a team that included foreign staff, all of whom intentionally evaded surveillance and used “technology of uncertain safety and effectiveness to perform human embryo gene-editing activity with the purpose of reproduction, which is officially banned in the country.”

Authorities also confirmed that He forged an ethical review between March 2017 and November 2018, and recruited eight couples to participate in the experiments, two of which achieved fertilization; twins Lulu and Nana are currently under observation by Chinese medical experts, while another embryo has yet to be born.

In the aftermath of the initial announcement, there was widespread condemnation of He’s actions among the scientific and broader international communities. Gene editing for reproductive purposes is effectively banned in the US, most of Europe and many other nations around the world, including China.

READ MORE: ‘Chinese Frankenstein’ missing? Whereabouts of scientist who created gene-edited babies unknown

He defended his actions at a conference in Hong Kong last November, stating that he was “proud” of what he had done, doubling down by stating that he had helped protect the twin girls from possible infection with HIV later in life.

Like this story? Share it with a friend! </s> Chinese authorities answered one of the lingering questions in the case of rogue scientist He Jiankui on Monday by confirming the twin girls he claims to have genetically edited as embryos were born and are currently under medical supervision.

He Jiankui rocked the medical community, and enraged Chinese officials, by announcing in November that he modified the DNA of the twins to make them immune to the HIV virus carried by their father. Monday’s announcement was the first official confirmation of He’s claim that the girls were born alive and healthy.

The South China Morning Post on Monday reported concerns for both the safety of the children and the future of the human race:

A biologist, who asked not to be identified, said: “This is a result I’m happy to see,” he said. ”This should be the way. There needs to be protection of the babies too.” He said he had also researched gene-editing but all experiments were done on lab rats only. In an interview with Beijing Youth Daily on Sunday, Shao Feng, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and deputy director of the National Institute of Biological Sciences, said the whole incident would need to be investigated thoroughly. “If I were to handle the matter, I would never tell [the twins] they’ve been gene-edited and allow them to live their lives like normal people,” he said. “I think that’s for the best.” An expert in the field, Shao is worried about potential health risks the children will face as well as the incident’s effect on the human race. “Once the gate of gene-editing is wide open, the human race will be finished,” he said. “The technology is strong but the terrifying fact is that anyone slightly trained in a lab can perform it.”

He Jiankui may or may not be under house arrest at the university that employs him, but his work is clearly under intense investigation, and all of his projects have been suspended. In addition to the troubling questions about genetic engineering raised by his work, he has been accused of violating ethical standards, including a challenge to his claim that he submitted the gene-editing project to review by a hospital ethics committee before proceeding.

Investigators in Guangdong province stated on Monday that He acted alone, evading oversight by privately raising funds for the project, and will be punished for violating unspecified laws.

“This behavior seriously violates ethics and the integrity of scientific research, is in serious violation of relevant national regulations and creates a pernicious influence at home and abroad,” said the authorities.
Police in China detain 75 people in connection with a service that determined the female gender of unborn babies for the purpose of abortion. Authorities say that at least 300 people were involved in the illegal service in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang. Expectant parents wanting male children smuggled fetal blood samples to Hong Kong for gender testing. China ended its one-child policy last year.