China bans clinical research in germline genome editing as ‘irresponsible’
By Alcott Wei,
South China Morning Post
| 07. 13. 2024
China has banned all clinical research involving germline genome editing under a newly released ethics guideline.
Germline gene engineering relates to altering the DNA in sperm, eggs or early embryos to introduce changes that can be inherited.
“Any clinical research involving germline genome editing is irresponsible and not permitted,” according to the Ethical Guideline for Human Genome Editing Research, released earlier this week by China’s Ministry of Science and Technology.
The guideline marks the latest effort from China to tighten ethics reviews and regulations after bioscientist He Jiankui shocked the world in 2018 with the announcement that he had created twin gene-edited babies to make them less vulnerable to HIV/Aids.
“Only when benefits, risks and alternative options are fully understood and weighed, when issues of safety and efficacy are addressed, broad social consensus is reached and rigorous evaluation is conducted, could clinical research be considered with strict supervision in place,” the guideline adds.
It also strictly prohibits the use of genome editing research on germ cells, fertilised eggs, or human embryos for reproductive purposes.
“The potential detrimental impacts and risks...
Related Articles
Several recent Biopolitical Times posts (1, 2, 3, 4) have called attention to the alarmingly rapid commercialization of “designer baby” technologies: polygenic embryo screening (especially its use to purportedly screen for traits like intelligence), in vitro gametogenesis (lab-made eggs and sperm), and heritable genome editing (also termed embryo editing or reproductive gene editing). Those three, together with artificial wombs, have been dubbed the “Gattaca stack” by Brian Armstrong, CEO of the cryptocurrency company...
By Emily Glazer, Katherine Long, Amy Dockser Marcus, The Wall Street Journal | 11.08.2025
For months, a small company in San Francisco has been pursuing a secretive project: the birth of a genetically engineered baby.
Backed by OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and his husband, along with Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong, the startup—called...
By Antonio Regalado, MIT Technology Review | 10.31.2025
A West Coast biotech entrepreneur says he’s secured $30 million to form a public-benefit company to study how to safely create genetically edited babies, marking the largest known investment into the taboo technology.
The new company, called Preventive, is...
By Emily Mullin, Wired | 10.30.2025
In 2018, Chinese scientist He Jiankui shocked the world when he revealed that he had created the first gene-edited babies. Using Crispr, he tweaked the genes of three human embryos in an attempt to make them immune to HIV and...
