Just hours away from the opening of the Second International Summit on Genome Editing in Hong Kong, and following a report in Technology Review, the Associated Press reported that a Chinese researcher, Dr Jiankui He was claiming to have performed genome editing in human embryos resulting in the birth of twin girls this month.

Dr. He maintains that he transferred embryos that had been edited to inactivate a gene called CCR5, which, in its active state, forms a protein that allows HIV to enter a cell. The babies are reportedly healthy, but information is scattered and inconsistent, with no formal peer review verification or data accompanying the claims.