U.S. scientist played instrumental role in ‘CRISPR babies’ project - STAT

U.S. scientist played instrumental role in ‘CRISPR babies’ project - STAT

The CRISPR babies scandal has stronger U.S. ties than anyone thought

Months after Chinese scientist He Jiankui shocked the world by revealing the birth of CRISPR-edited twins, STAT has learned that a prominent U.S. researcher was far more involved in the widely condemned experiment than was previously disclosed.

Michael Deem, a biophysicist at Rice University, is named as the senior author of a scientific paper detailing He’s work, suggesting he was instrumental in an effort that has drawn almost universal criticism. Deem, who was once He’s Ph.D. adviser, had previously distanced himself from the experiment.

The scientific community needs to get to the bottom of what Deem did and when, outside researchers said, both to understand the past and to ensure such risky experiments don’t happen in the future.

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