Playing god?

The world may not be ready for genetically modified humans

Addressing the second International Summit on Human Genome Editing in Hong Kong earlier this week, He Jiankui, an academic from Shenzhen, China, made a remarkable announcement. Mr He said he had successfully created the world’s first genetically-edited babies. The genetically-modified newborn twins — called “Nana” and “Lulu" — have been endowed with HIV resistance, according to Mr He. This claim is yet to be verified but the announcement has already kicked up a massive storm about the scientific, commercial and ethical implications of a world where humans can be created with genetic modifications. As things stand, such editing is banned