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The Race to Make Designer Babies
It’s Monday, August 11. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: We’re bringing you the only story you have to read today.
What if I told you that, within a generation, any baby born with a genetic disease could be cured? Sounds miraculous, right?
But what if I told you that the same technology that gets us there—it’s called CRISPR-Cas9—could allow would-be parents to pick the color of their babies’ skin? Or, eventually, even their IQ?
That’s kind of scary.
CRISPR-Cas9 gives us the power to edit human genes. Some believe it has the potential to usher in a future with no disease. Others believe it could also bring us a future of “designer babies”—which is another way of saying eugenics. Somewhere between the two, there’s a bright line.
The challenge—for scientists, ethicists, politicians, parents, all of us—will be to decide where, exactly, that line is. And we need to decide soon, because advances in gene editing are coming lightning fast.
Right now, two people with controversial and competing visions are vying to pioneer gene editing in the United States.
One of them is He Jiankui, who six years ago was globally condemned for creating the world’s first gene-edited babies (twin girls born with immunity to HIV).
They called him “Chinese Frankenstein.” For three years, China kept him in prison.
Now, he’s set up a company in the U.S.—he’s pitching it as the “Walmart of gene editing”—and says he’s on the brink of opening a lab in Austin, Texas.
The other would-be pioneer is Cathy Tie, a 29-year-old Canadian Thiel fellow who’s had a busy couple years. Last year, while living in LA, she launched a company to create gene-edited pets—like glow-in-the-dark unicorns.
Then, in April, she flew to Beijing and got married. . . to He Jiankui.
It didn’t last long.
Just three months later, at the end of July, Tie announced on X that the couple would be going their separate ways. Now, they’re in open competition. Last week, Cathy Tie announced she’s starting a new company, in New York City, that will explore how to safely create gene-edited babies in the United States.
She’s calling it Manhattan Project.
Our reporter, Johanna Berkman, has spoken to both “Chinese Frankenstein” and his bride, to hear each side of the story. Given the stakes—and how utterly fascinating and wild these characters are—it’s the only story we’re running this morning. This is one to read, reread, and print out.
Because, if the gene editors are right, they will shape the future of humanity.
“Humans will no longer be controlled by Darwin’s evolution,” He told The Free Press, “so the weak ones will be killed and the strong ones will survive.”
“No,” he went on, “humans will decide our own fate.”
— Bari Weiss
Announcing: Our Next Live Debate! It’s About Gene Editing . . .CRISPR is already being used with FDA approval. In May of this year, doctors at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia used it to save the life of a baby boy born with a rare, often fatal genetic disorder.
Because of this, and because of the urgency of the ethical questions posed by gene editing, it’s going to be the subject of our next live debate—which will happen in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 10.
It’s a debate about our collective future—and whether we are wise enough to shape it. We’re partnering with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) to bring together four leading experts who will debate the question: Is designing babies unethical—or a moral imperative?
Tickets will be available for purchase at 10 a.m. today right here. Get yours before we sell out.
We can’t wait to see you there.
President Trump arrives for an event to honor recipients of the Purple Heart in the East Room of the White House on August 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images)President Donald Trump plans to meet Vladimir Putin in Alaska this Friday, despite an international arrest warrant for the Russian leader and his ongoing war in Ukraine. Trump says he hopes to end the conflict, but allies fear he could offer concessions such as redrawing Ukraine’s borders without Kyiv’s consent. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned any deal made without Ukraine, calling it a decision “against peace.”
President Trump is considering military action against Latin American drug cartels, directing the Pentagon to prepare some ideas as part of a tougher regional strategy. The move threatens to blow up a pending security agreement with Mexico, which was designed to enable the two nations to work jointly to monitor illegal activity at their shared border. On Friday, Mexico’s president made it clear that U.S. soldiers would not be welcome on her country’s soil.
Israel’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and his Religious Zionist Party have warned they will push to dissolve the government and trigger elections unless Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu changes his Gaza plan, which they see as favoring a ceasefire deal over full military occupation. Smotrich has publicly declared he no longer trusts Netanyahu’s leadership, while RZP lawmakers have boycotted cabinet meetings in protest.
Severe storms and flash flooding forced the cancellation of the final day of the Wisconsin State Fair, inundating the fairgrounds near Milwaukee and leaving thousands without power. Up to 12 inches of rain fell in parts of the area, submerging roads, stranding vehicles, and prompting hundreds of emergency calls. The storms also caused one death in Nebraska, damaged a state prison, and caused travel chaos across the Midwest.
The AI boom is minting billionaires at an unprecedented pace. Start-ups like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Anysphere have had massive fundraising rounds, while other AI-linked public companies have soared in valuation. Most of this new wealth is still tied up in private equity, but IPOs, acquisitions, and secondary markets are expected to make fortunes more liquid.
Apple shares jumped 13 percent this week—their biggest gain since 2020—after CEO Tim Cook met with President Trump to announce a $100 billion investment in U.S. companies and parts. The pledge to buy more American-made chips won Apple an exemption from future tariffs, easing investor fears and adding over $400 billion to its market value.
New research suggests that smartphones and constant digital engagement are reshaping our personalities—because it erodes our focus, self-control, and connections to the real world. Analysis of 16- to 39-year-olds in America suggests they are becoming—perhaps irreversibly—less conscientious, less sociable, and more neurotic.
Last year we had “hot girl summer”; this year we have “British MAGA summer.” Vice President J.D. Vance’s vacation in an $11,000-a-week manor in the Cotswolds has drawn backlash from locals and protest groups, who have cited various times when he has, in their view, insulted the UK and Europe. Polls show fewer than 14 percent of Britons view him favorably, and his meetings, including one with Foreign Minister David Lammy, have been picketed by demonstrators calling for him to go home.
View all episodes
By Bari WeissIt’s Monday, August 11. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: We’re bringing you the only story you have to read today.
What if I told you that, within a generation, any baby born with a genetic disease could be cured? Sounds miraculous, right?
But what if I told you that the same technology that gets us there—it’s called CRISPR-Cas9—could allow would-be parents to pick the color of their babies’ skin? Or, eventually, even their IQ?
That’s kind of scary.
CRISPR-Cas9 gives us the power to edit human genes. Some believe it has the potential to usher in a future with no disease. Others believe it could also bring us a future of “designer babies”—which is another way of saying eugenics. Somewhere between the two, there’s a bright line.
The challenge—for scientists, ethicists, politicians, parents, all of us—will be to decide where, exactly, that line is. And we need to decide soon, because advances in gene editing are coming lightning fast.
Right now, two people with controversial and competing visions are vying to pioneer gene editing in the United States.
One of them is He Jiankui, who six years ago was globally condemned for creating the world’s first gene-edited babies (twin girls born with immunity to HIV).
They called him “Chinese Frankenstein.” For three years, China kept him in prison.
Now, he’s set up a company in the U.S.—he’s pitching it as the “Walmart of gene editing”—and says he’s on the brink of opening a lab in Austin, Texas.
The other would-be pioneer is Cathy Tie, a 29-year-old Canadian Thiel fellow who’s had a busy couple years. Last year, while living in LA, she launched a company to create gene-edited pets—like glow-in-the-dark unicorns.
Then, in April, she flew to Beijing and got married. . . to He Jiankui.
It didn’t last long.
Just three months later, at the end of July, Tie announced on X that the couple would be going their separate ways. Now, they’re in open competition. Last week, Cathy Tie announced she’s starting a new company, in New York City, that will explore how to safely create gene-edited babies in the United States.
She’s calling it Manhattan Project.
Our reporter, Johanna Berkman, has spoken to both “Chinese Frankenstein” and his bride, to hear each side of the story. Given the stakes—and how utterly fascinating and wild these characters are—it’s the only story we’re running this morning. This is one to read, reread, and print out.
Because, if the gene editors are right, they will shape the future of humanity.
“Humans will no longer be controlled by Darwin’s evolution,” He told The Free Press, “so the weak ones will be killed and the strong ones will survive.”
“No,” he went on, “humans will decide our own fate.”
— Bari Weiss
Announcing: Our Next Live Debate! It’s About Gene Editing . . .CRISPR is already being used with FDA approval. In May of this year, doctors at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia used it to save the life of a baby boy born with a rare, often fatal genetic disorder.
Because of this, and because of the urgency of the ethical questions posed by gene editing, it’s going to be the subject of our next live debate—which will happen in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 10.
It’s a debate about our collective future—and whether we are wise enough to shape it. We’re partnering with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) to bring together four leading experts who will debate the question: Is designing babies unethical—or a moral imperative?
Tickets will be available for purchase at 10 a.m. today right here. Get yours before we sell out.
We can’t wait to see you there.
President Trump arrives for an event to honor recipients of the Purple Heart in the East Room of the White House on August 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images)President Donald Trump plans to meet Vladimir Putin in Alaska this Friday, despite an international arrest warrant for the Russian leader and his ongoing war in Ukraine. Trump says he hopes to end the conflict, but allies fear he could offer concessions such as redrawing Ukraine’s borders without Kyiv’s consent. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned any deal made without Ukraine, calling it a decision “against peace.”
President Trump is considering military action against Latin American drug cartels, directing the Pentagon to prepare some ideas as part of a tougher regional strategy. The move threatens to blow up a pending security agreement with Mexico, which was designed to enable the two nations to work jointly to monitor illegal activity at their shared border. On Friday, Mexico’s president made it clear that U.S. soldiers would not be welcome on her country’s soil.
Israel’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and his Religious Zionist Party have warned they will push to dissolve the government and trigger elections unless Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu changes his Gaza plan, which they see as favoring a ceasefire deal over full military occupation. Smotrich has publicly declared he no longer trusts Netanyahu’s leadership, while RZP lawmakers have boycotted cabinet meetings in protest.
Severe storms and flash flooding forced the cancellation of the final day of the Wisconsin State Fair, inundating the fairgrounds near Milwaukee and leaving thousands without power. Up to 12 inches of rain fell in parts of the area, submerging roads, stranding vehicles, and prompting hundreds of emergency calls. The storms also caused one death in Nebraska, damaged a state prison, and caused travel chaos across the Midwest.
The AI boom is minting billionaires at an unprecedented pace. Start-ups like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Anysphere have had massive fundraising rounds, while other AI-linked public companies have soared in valuation. Most of this new wealth is still tied up in private equity, but IPOs, acquisitions, and secondary markets are expected to make fortunes more liquid.
Apple shares jumped 13 percent this week—their biggest gain since 2020—after CEO Tim Cook met with President Trump to announce a $100 billion investment in U.S. companies and parts. The pledge to buy more American-made chips won Apple an exemption from future tariffs, easing investor fears and adding over $400 billion to its market value.
New research suggests that smartphones and constant digital engagement are reshaping our personalities—because it erodes our focus, self-control, and connections to the real world. Analysis of 16- to 39-year-olds in America suggests they are becoming—perhaps irreversibly—less conscientious, less sociable, and more neurotic.
Last year we had “hot girl summer”; this year we have “British MAGA summer.” Vice President J.D. Vance’s vacation in an $11,000-a-week manor in the Cotswolds has drawn backlash from locals and protest groups, who have cited various times when he has, in their view, insulted the UK and Europe. Polls show fewer than 14 percent of Britons view him favorably, and his meetings, including one with Foreign Minister David Lammy, have been picketed by demonstrators calling for him to go home.