Study on gene-editing tool sparks debate

WANG XIAOYING/CHINA DAILY

It is not rare for scholars to challenge a fellow researcher who has made a new discovery. The more they challenge, the more details need to be tested and technology improved. And in case a researcher has falsified the data, he/she stands discredited. Either way, science progresses.

That's why researchers' demand for Han to publish his original data is normal. Initially, Han responded by submitting plasmid information to Addgene, a global non-profit organization that helps share such information, and giving plasmid samples as gifts during a lecture.

Even before that, Han had written an article in response to the challenges, advising those trying to replicate his experiment. That's a positive, open attitude that helps clarify a lot of things.

But his university's attitude is rather different; reports say it has not responded at all and has even asked Han to stop responding. Challenges are very important for researchers who wish to improve their work, and if their universities adopt an ostrich policy, they will only arouse more doubts.

Han's university lapped up all praise lavished upon it when he published the paper, but now it has adopted silence. It is time the university abandoned the ostrich policy and Han opened up about his research. If they publish all the original data and NgAgo proves a better tool than the existing ones, they will be lauded further.

Xiong Bingqi is vice-president of Shanghai-based 21st Century Education Research Institute.