biomedical ethics

Two child deaths in China gene trials spur tighter rules

Two children have died in separate experimental gene-editing trials in China, drawing renewed scrutiny to the country's fast-track clinical research system and reigniting a global debate over the ethical guardrails governing cutting-edge biomedical treatments.

Child’s death in China gene-editing trial sparks ethics scandal

A six-year-old Chinese girl died in March 2025 after receiving an experimental gene-editing therapy at Xinhua Hospital in Shanghai, a death that was concealed from a subsequent paper published in Nature Springer Nature Group and is now prompting widespread calls…