Lulu and Nana

What motivates Scientists to develop new drugs and new cures? Altruism, hubris, greed? Human virtues and vices affect all scientific endeavours.In 2018 He Jiankui announced the birth of the first genetically modified twins, Lulu and Nana, on the Internet. Using CRISPR Cas9, he claimed to have altered two human embryos to be resistant to HIV infection. Immediately many scientists worldwide denounced He for using a technology that was not yet free of risks and experimenting with the lives of these twins. Many of these scientists have since developed the technology further and formed lucrative companies to profit from it. Most scientists remain open to the conversation on regulating the use of CRISPR in human health. However, they never question the profit motive that restricts the use of these technologies. What happened to Lulu and Nana remains unknown, just like any visual reference to them in this image.