Abstract

As i was finalizing this introduction to the Special Issue on CRISPR genome editing for Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, news broke that the Chinese scientist He Jiankui had been sentenced in Chinese court to three years in prison for "illegal medical practice" for his role in the creation of the world's first genome-edited babies. This official reprimand reinforced the worldwide condemnation and censure that followed He's announcement in November 2018 that his team at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China, had used the CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing tools on human embryos created via in vitro fertilization. He produced and brought to term two babies carrying...