He Jiankui, a Chinese scientist completely took the scientific community by shock, after revealing that he had in fact edited the genes of real human babies and then somehow mysteriously vanished.

However, he has now been found, and is reported to be held by guards at the Southern University of Science and Technology.  It has still not been made clear who the guards work for, however the fact that they are holding him custody shows that his research has not been accepted by the community of genetics researchers.

His work has been condemned by the Chinese government, resulting in the banning of his research being continued, as well as an investigation being launched.  It also remains unclear whether or not his disappearance was the result of him being held somewhere else, or simply that he was in hiding and trying to keep a low-profile.

While under strict supervision, he is in fact allowed to communicate through external methods such as through phone calls and emails, however has been reported to have been highly irresponsible with those working with him.

The only thing that is surely clear is that his unfinished work has shocked everyone, and all of the saga of how it’s been handled could show other researchers the challenges they could face if they were to follow his example.