The tech behind genetically modified babies is getting a reboot

A Chinese scientist, He Jiankui, made a shocking announcement to the world in 2018: He had secretly engineered the birth of the first gene-edited babies. The birth of the twins was seen as reckless and unethical by the scientific community. That’s because, among other things, the CRISPR gene-editing technique Jiankui used was so new. NPR science correspondent <a href="https://www.npr.org/people/146944972/rob-stein"target="_blank" >Rob Stein</a> has been following the controversial world of gene-editing and human reproduction, including some companies’ recent quests to push gene-editing technology forward.<br><br><strong><em>Read more of Rob Stein’s reporting on the topic </em></strong><a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/08/06/nx-s1-5493448/gene-editing-human-embryos-designer-babies"target="_blank" ><strong><em>here</em></strong></a><strong><em>.</em></strong><br><br><em>Interested in more science news? Let us know at </em><a href="mailto: shortwave@npr.org"target="_blank" ><em>shortwave@npr.org.</em></a><em> </em><br><br><em>Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at</em><a href="http://plus.npr.org/shortwave"target="_blank" ><em> plus.npr.org/shortwave</em></a><em>.</em>

Read the full article at: NPR News →