WATCH: Man Who 'Genetically Engineered' Babies Released From Chinese Prison, Here Are His Plans...

He has been touting plans to develop affordable gene therapies for rare diseases, starting with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and announced last fall that he had opened a lab in Beijing.

March 01, 2023

However, He has faced setbacks in his attempts to return to science. Last week, Hong Kong officials revoked his visa hours after He announced that he had received one, saying false statements had been made and a criminal investigation would be launched.

According to the Associated Press, H3e has not agreed to an interview but said on Twitter over the weekend that he will pause posting there to focus on his research. Some in the scientific world are divided about his comeback efforts, with some expressing serious doubts.

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Kiran Musunuru, a University of Pennsylvania gene editing specialist and author of a book on the case, pointed out that He has no qualifications in gene editing, and that his prior venture was "a total, total disaster." Musunuru went on to say, “I understand maybe some of this is a play to rehabilitate his reputation … But how can anyone think this is a good idea?”

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Researchers have expressed concern that he may resume his prior work, which utilized the CRISPR-Cas9 instrument to genetically alter embryos, disabling a gene that facilitates HIV's entrance into cells. The intention was to attempt to make the offspring immune to AIDS.

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The 2020 Nobel Prize was awarded to the scientists who developed the gene-editing tool, which can potentially create treatments for various illnesses.

His research sparked criticism worldwide, as it involved making alterations to embryos that could be inherited by future generations, thus potentially altering the course of human evolution. Moreover, the experiment was unnecessary from a medical standpoint and posed the risk of inadvertently altering other genes.

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The status of the children resulting from the three embryos, which included twins Lulu and Nana, as well as Amy, is unknown.

Dr. Samira Kiani, a genetic engineer and researcher at the University of Pittsburgh who created a documentary titled "Make People Better" commented, “I wouldn’t be surprised that a few years down the line if the opportunity arises, that he would go back.”

Experts say that something similar is bound to happen again unless the global scientific community changes the competitive culture that pushes many into a race to be first.