Biotech journal to check DNA claims

The journal Nature Biotechnology said on Tuesday that it would investigate criticisms of what was thought to be a breakthrough gene-editing technique developed by Chinese scientist Han Chunyu.

The journal published Han's research findings online on May 2. But last week, the head of the transgenesis lab at Australian National University said the lab had been unable to replicate Han's results.

Han, 42, a geneticist at Hebei University of Science and Technology, rose to prominence with the publication of his cutting-edge gene editing technique - known as NgAgo - and he was perceived as a contender for a Nobel Prize.