The Chinese scientist who claimed to have produced the world’s first gene-edited babies last month has been named one of the Top 10 “people who mattered” in 2018 by leading scientific journal Nature.

On Tuesday, the weekly publication wrote that He Jiankui crossed “a new bioethical boundary” in using CRISPR technology to create twin girls resistant to HIV. After his research was made public in November, medical ethics authorities in China launched an investigation into the controversial experiment, which the scientist has continued to defend with pride. “Although the [gene-editing] technology could lead to new insights,” Nature noted, “Few would argue that He’s approach has helped.”

Another Chinese scientist, Yuan Cao, was also named to the list for experiments that turned sheets of atom-thick carbon into superconductors. (Image: VCG)