Surprise!

Most people get the shock of a lifetime when learning they’re expecting twins, but that’s nothing compared to the shock waves sent through the scientific community this week when Chinese scientist He Jiankui announced—via YouTube no less—the first living human (twins!) to be born with gene editing on board. Sadly he missed the memo that this is a serious CRISPR faux pas as his university, fellow researchers, and even his country promptly scrambled to disavow his work. Yesterday he gave his first public address at the Human Genome Editing Conference, though several scientists remain skeptical of the veracity of his report to have genetically vaccinated against HIV. TBL: Regardless of whether these claims prove bogus, now it’s really time to define global scientific guidelines on gene editing. | Meixler, Time 2018