Chinese Researcher Draws Flak From International Scientists for New Genome Editing Technology

(Beijing) - A Chinese scientist who discovered a new protein that can be used for genome editing has defended the finding amid questions raised by foreign researchers who say they failed to replicate the process.

Han Chunyu, an associate professor of biology at Hebei University of Science and Technology in northern city of Shijiazhuang, and his team published their findings about a genome editing technique using a bacteria known as Natronobacterium gregory Argonaute or NgAgo in the scientific journal Nature Biotechnology in May. The finding was hailed as a major breakthrough in genome studies by Chinese scientists interviewed by the South China Morning Post immediately after the journal article was published, because it offers an alternative to a widely adopted gene editing technique known as CRISPR/Cas9.