China scientist claims of first gene-edited babies

Beijing has ordered an investigation into claims by a Chinese scientist to have created the world's first genetically-edited babies, a move that would be a ground-breaking medical first but which has generated a barrage of criticism.

A video posted on YouTube by university professor He Jiankui said that the twin girls, born a few weeks ago, had had their DNA altered to prevent them from contracting HIV, prompting a heated debate among the scientific community.

As experts cast doubt over the claimed breakthrough and others decried it as a modern form of eugenics, China's National Health Commission ordered an "immediate investigation" into the case, the official Xinhua news agency reported early yesterday, citing a statement on the NHC's website.

The professor, who was educated at Stanford University in the US and works from a lab in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, said the twins' DNA was modified using CRISPR, a technique which allows scientists to remove and replace a strand with pinpoint precision.

The development emerged Sunday in an article published by industry journal the MIT Technology Review, which referenced medical documents posted online by He's research team to recruit couples for the experiments.

Gene editing is a potential fix for heritable diseases but it is extremely controversial because the changes would be passed down to future generations and could eventually affect the entire gene pool.

The research has been robustly criticised by Chinese scientists and institutions. The university where He works said he had been on unpaid leave since February and his research is a "serious violation of academic ethics and norms".

And a joint statement from a group of 100 scientists in China criticised the findings and called for better state legislation.