China jails gene-edited babies scientists for 3 years

According to China's state-run news agency Xinhua, the Shenzhen Nanshan District People's Court sentenced He to three years and a fine of 430,000 USD. He and his collaborators forged ethical review materials and recruited men with AIDS who were part of a couple to carry out the gene-editing. His experiments ultimately resulted in two women giving birth to three gene-edited babies.

He Jiankui said in November last year that he had used gene-editing technology known as CRISPR-Cas9 to change the genes of twin girls to help them resist infection with the AIDS virus. The announcement sparked a global debate over the ethics of gene editing.

The court also handed lesser sentences to Zhang Renli and Qin Jinzhou for having conspired with He in his work.