--- title: "Communist Party Secretly Supported Chinese Gene-Edited Babies, According to New Book" description: "According to a new book, Chinese scientist He Jiankui had the support of several Communist Party officials while working on his gene-editing experiments." date: "2020-11-18" modified: "2020-12-04" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/communist-party-secretly-supported-chinese-gene-edited-babies" categories: - "Gene Editing" - "Genetics" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "CRISPR" - "gene-edited babies" - "gene-editing" - "he jiankui" --- # Communist Party Secretly Supported Chinese Gene-Edited Babies, According to New Book ![According to a new book, Chinese scientist He Jiankui had the support of several Communist Party officials while working on his gene-editing experiments.]() *\Image: Ho-Wen Chen via Flickr\* In late 2018, the scientific world [was shaken]() by the news that a Chinese scientist named He Jiankui had secretly created the world’s first gene-edited human babies. In a new book called "The Mutant Project: Inside the Global Race to Genetically Modify Humans," as [reviewed by *The Wall Street Journal*](), cultural anthropologist Eben Kirksey examined the impact of these shocking studies. One alarming takeaway: He had numerous supporters and collaborators. He even garnered support from several key Communist Party officials during his early work, Kirksey revealed, and his experiments were an "open secret" in the academic community. To some degree, that's not surprising. In February 2019, [*STAT* reported]() that China had likely [funded some of He's research](). And we also knew that a group of international scientists [had been aware]() of He's work. That support didn't last, though. He [went missing]() shortly after his experiments received international attention, with the Chinese government quickly distancing itself from his work, painting him as a scientist [who had gone "rogue]()." He was sentenced to [three years in prison]() in December 2019. The scientific community also quickly denounced his work, which was meant to grant the babies immunity to HIV, with colleagues saying He had cut corners and even [reportedly forged]() ethical reviews of his experiments. Overall, the consensus is that it's far too early to tell what the long term ramifications are of tinkering with genetic code in live human embryos. In fact, other studies have already found that gene editing may indeed induce undesired changes in human embryos. An [October study](), for instance, found that a small edit to repair a gene in human embryos to treat for hereditary blindness resulted in the elimination of large swathes of an entire chromosome. In his book, Kirksey argues that it may be too late to halt gene-editing research entirely — but what's still up for debate is how long it'll be until the effects of such endeavors will be felt by the general population. So why even go through the trouble? In the book, Kirksey also discusses the underlying societal pressures that may lead to the desire to gene edit away illnesses — and, eventually, perhaps lead to designer babies that have been gene edited to be smarter, stronger or healthier. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()