A scientist who created the world’s first genetically modified twins has been sentenced to three years in prison for “illegal medical practice” by a Chinese court.
He Jiankui, who sparked a global outcry last year by revealing the birth of twins whose genes had been altered with the editing technique known as Crispr, was convicted of “illegal medical practice” on Monday by a court in the southern province of Guangdong, which also fined him Rmb3m ($430,000).
The court said that three genetically modified children had been born as a result of the scientist’s research, which involved forging ethical review documents and deception of patients. It did not provide any details on the children or their current health. Health officials revealed in January that a second woman was pregnant with a foetus whose genes were edited by He.