The CRISPR Babies

In 2018 news broke that a Chinese scientist, He Jiankui, had used CRISPR to edit human embryos, and twin girls had been born as a result. The story set off an explosive bioethical controversy. As gene editing expert Kiran Musunuru put it, “He Jiankui’s genetic misadventures were the biggest medical story of the century so far.” Both scientists and the public had a lot of questions. What was the unmet medical need that justified the gene editing? Was the science ready for prime time? And, if it was, was He Jiankui the right scientist to do it? Seven years later these questions are far from resolved.

Credits

Host: Alexis Pedrick
Executive Producer: Mariel Carr
Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez
Associate Producer: Sarah Kaplan
Audio Engineer: Samia Bouzid
Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Resource List

Baylis, Françoise. Altered Inheritance: CRISPR and the Ethics of Human Genome Editing. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2019.

CBS News. “Chinese Researcher Claims He Helped Make First Gene-Edited Babies.” CBS News, November 26, 2018.

CBS News. “Chinese Scientist Behind Gene-Edited Babies Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison.” CBS News, December 30, 2019.

Cobb, Matthew. As Gods: A Moral History of the Genetic Age. New York: Basic Books, 2022.

Greely, Henry T. CRISPR People: The Science and Ethics of Editing Humans. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2021.

"He Jiankui presentation and Q&A, International Summit on Human Genome Editing." Youtube Video, November 26, 2018.

Marchione, Marilynn. Associated Press. “Chinese researcher claims first gene-edited babies.” AP News, November 26, 2018.

“Meet Cathy Tie, Bride of 'China’s Frankenstein.'” MIT Technology Review, May 23, 2025.

Musunuru, Kiran. The CRISPR Generation: The Story of the World’s First Gene-Edited Babies. BookBaby, 2019.

NBC News. “Chinese Scientist Says He Helped Create First Gene-Edited Babies.” NBC News, November 26, 2018.

“World's first successful tailor-made gene therapy saves baby born with rare disorder.” CBS Mornings. May 16, 2025.