--- title: "Scientist Who Genetically Modified Human Babies Released From Prison" description: "He Jiankui, the scientist who gained wide notoriety for genetically modifying two human babies in 2018, has been released from prison." date: "2022-04-04" modified: "2022-04-05" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/he-jiankui-released-prison" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Prosthetics and Devices" tags: - "china" - "CRISPR" - "he jiankui" - "the digest" --- # Scientist Who Genetically Modified Human Babies Released From Prison ![He Jiankui, the scientist who gained wide notoriety for genetically modifying two human babies in 2018, has been released from prison.]() *Embryo at 7 weeks, computer artwork. \Image: Getty Images\* ## Gene Hackman Remember He Jiankui, the Chinese scientist who shocked the world when it [emerged in late 2018]() that he had used CRISPR to tinker with the genetic code of IVF embryos, leading to the birth of twins who are likely the world's first genetically modified humans? The news led to a [broad outcry]() among scientists, ethicists and regulators, not the least because experts in the field [later found]() the experiment to be tainted by "egregious scientific and ethical lapses." Long story short, China ended up imprisoning He, who also lost his research position at the Southern University of Science and Technology in China — but now *MIT Technology Review*, which first broke the news of the experiment back in 2018, [reports that he's out of prison]() and even answered his cell phone for a brief call. "It’s not convenient to talk right now," he told *MIT Tech* before hanging up. ## Questions Remain It's not clear what He will be getting up to next. Sources characterized him to *MIT Tech* as "idealistic, naïve, and ambitious." He was apparently shocked by the outrage generated by the experiment, having previously anticipated that he would win a Nobel Prize. Back before prison, He didn't seem entirely opposed to commercializing the technology. He [reportedly did have]() "preliminary conversations" about starting a designer baby clinic either in China or Switzerland, though the talks apparently didn't progress far. Needless to say, there are immense and unanswered scientific and ethical questions surrounding the entire concept of tinkering with human DNA — starting with the fact that leading experts still have no idea how genetic code even operates in the totality of an organism. But the fact that it's been done for the first time is a bell that can't be unrung. **More on He Jiankui:** [Researcher Who Gene-Edited Babies Answers Critics: “I Feel Proud”]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()