--- title: "Scientist Who Gene-Hacked Human Babies Says Ethics Are “Holding Back” Scientific Progress" description: "The scientist who went to prison for gene hacking a pair of twins in China is now decrying the ethics that punished him." date: "2025-03-13" modified: "2025-03-13" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/gene-hacking-scientist-ethics" categories: - "Genetics" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "CRISPR" - "gene hacking" - "gene-editing" - "he jankui" --- # Scientist Who Gene-Hacked Human Babies Says Ethics Are “Holding Back” Scientific Progress ![The scientist who went to prison for gene hacking a pair of twins in China is now decrying the ethics that punished him.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* It's been [nearly three years]() since controversial Chinese biophysicist He Jiankui was released from prison for gene-hacking human babies — and now, he appears to be hitting back at the rules that led to his punishment. In a [cryptic post on X]() that featured a photo of the scientist blankly staring directly into the camera, He wrote that "ethics is holding back scientific innovation and progress." Though he doesn't mention it directly, that post seems like a clear reference to the ethical standards that made his 2018 gene-hacking experiments — which saw him using CRISPR to edit the DNA of twin girls pseudonymously known as "Lulu" and "Nana" in an attempt to make them immune to HIV — the source of global public outcry. After He announced that he'd created the world's first so-called "[CRISPR babies]()" and that they'd been born [seemingly without defect](), the experiments were [widely denounced as unethical]() to the point of abomination. In 2019, the scientist was arrested in China and sentenced to three years in prison — and just 18 months after his release in April 2022, [He was back in the lab]() working on how to use genetic editing to fight Alzheimer's. Despite his return to the lab, however, it appears per a string of [English-language missives]() posted on X that the notorious Chinese scientist has a chip on his shoulder about the stigma he accrued for his gene-hacking experiments. "Gene editing technology has the power to reshape the world," [He wrote]() in a November post, "like \[the\] nuclear bomb." "Great revolution begins with controversy," the scientist [declared in another](). Alongside his vague proclamations of grandeur, He also [came down hard]() on the use of biological weapons, paid lip service to the potential for [universal access to genetic editing]() regardless of income, and even [claimed in one post]() from December that "gene editing should not be conducted in countries with lax regulation in ethics." Taken together, these statements paint the portrait of a self-righteous scientist who, like so many of his [Western counterparts](), seems to believe despite all evidence to the contrary that he has been "canceled" for going against the grain. The reality, of course, is that He clearly feels hemmed in by the ethical rules that he was punished for ignoring the first time around — and wants to be able to do his problematic work in peace. **More on strange science:** [*Weird New Computer Runs AI on Captive Human Brain Cells*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()