The Rise and Fall of China’s Science Superstar
sixthtone.com
Just a year and a half ago, Han was basking in the spotlight. In May 2016, scientific journal Nature Biotechnology published his research on NgAgo, an enzyme he claimed was capable of snipping DNA sequences like scissors to modify genomes. Several years earlier, the scientific community had started using another enzyme, Cas9, to cut sequences of a genome, which would in theory make it possible to create designer babies or identify cancer-causing genes.
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In November 2016, leaders of 20 labs around the world questioned the NgAgo findings in scientific journal Protein & Cell. Speaking to Nature’s news division, Han said he believed he had discovered things other scientists had overlooked, but that he needed “a little bit of time” and wouldn’t give details “because the media in China jumps on everything I say.”
o others in the scientific community, however, Han’s findings were suspicious almost from the start. By June 2016, a month after the research was published, domestic labs had begun raising concerns over their inability to replicate Han’s results.
Soon, respected scientists in China and abroad were questioning the findings. When questions gave way to suspicion, the international scientific community asked Han to publish all the original data and experiment conditions. Even with the additional information, the community still could not replicate his results. |
