Exclusive: A pariah in science, 'CRISPR babies' researcher gains support from U.S. crypto entrepreneur

exclusive

A pariah in science, the 'CRISPR babies' researcher gains support from a U.S. cryptocurrency entrepreneur

By Megan Molteni

He Jiankui in his office in Sanya, in southern China, in August 2024. Jeremy Grinan for STAT

He Jiankui rose to international infamy in 2018, when it came to light that he had performed a series of secretive, ethically fraught, scientifically sloppy genetic experiments that resulted in the birth of three CRISPR'd children. But in certain tech circles, He's transgressions have found fans — and a financial backer.

He told STAT that he had been approached by an American investor offering him $1 million to help start a company that would operate in China and the U.S. to conduct basic research on germline gene editing to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's.

Legal scholars and bioethicists told STAT this is part of a small but steadily growing trend: Driven by escalating competition between China and the West, rising interest in eugenic ideas, and long-standing ethical shortcomings in the culture of international scientific research, a push to relax regulations for gene-editing of human embryos is gaining traction.