Happy Human Gene-Editing Day! Today, November 25th, marks exactly one year since Dr. He Jiankui announced that his lab had created the world’s first genetically modified babies; two twin girls born in China, and nicknamed Lulu and Nana.

Dr. He used CRISPR to make the twins immune to HIV by editing a gene called CCR5, which the HIV virus uses as a pathway to enter the cell. There is also a likelihood that the twins’ cognitive abilities may have been enhanced by this edit, as there is research showing that suppressing CCR5 improves learning, memory and neuroplasticity.

Beginning as a little known biophysicist who wanted to sequence dinosaur eggs – while slowly garnering moderate notoriety as the future of DNA sequencing in China, and finally becoming the man who changed the course of human evolution; Dr. He’s life has changed forever after the November 25 announcement.

The 35 year old author of “Modularity: The Principle of Evolution in Complex Systems” is now reviled by bioethicists worldwide, shunned by many of his peers and institutional scientists – some of whom by the way do it purely to virtue-signal or even out of career envy, as it has recently come to light that many leading scientists were aware of Dr. He’s work and some even approved – and only publicly rebuked him after witnessing the fierce backlash that he received after November 25.

Despite all the condemnation that Dr. He has received, he is considered a maverick and a pioneer by biohackers and transhumanists, and many people with genetic diseases or people whose loved ones have genetic diseases, consider him a hero.

Among institutional scientists, Kiran Musunuru has been Dr. He’s most vocal critic. Musunuru wants the world to know that although Dr. He might be the first person to create gene-edited babies, he, Musunuru, is THE FIRST person to be quoted by the media for condemning Dr. He’s human gene-editing! Today Musunuru saw it pertinent to repeat this historical footnote while announcing the release of his book ‘The CRISPR Generation’, which is about none other than Dr. He Jiankui and the CRISPR twins.

Musunuru vows that in the coming days he will be going on and on about all the horrible things that Dr. He did by being responsible for the birth of Lulu and Nana. If you cannot wait for this endless moral high ground virtue-signalling and posturing, Musunuru says you can just buy his book instead, coming out on November 29!

Unlike Musunuru, other notable institutional scientists who made a public spectacle out of rebuking Dr. He, shockingly also happened to be part of a ‘circle of trust’ that Dr. He corresponded with. The people in this circle were either partially or fully aware of Dr. He’s experiments and only spoke out and distanced themselves after November 25 when they saw the career-ending ferocity of the backlash that Dr. He was receiving.

Among these scientists is Stanford’s Stephen Quake, who corresponded with Dr. He a lot, but condemned him after the November 25 backlash, saying he did not approve of what Dr. He did. However, later when some of Dr. He’s correspondence with Quake was made public, it was revealed that Quake had been impressed by Dr. He’s human gene-editing work. When Dr. He emailed Quake about the birth of Lulu and Nana before his November 25 announcement, Quake had wrote back to Dr. He, emphatically stating, “Wow, that’s quiet an achievement!”

Another scientist who has repeatedly condemned Dr. He is CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna of UC Berkeley, who Dr. He also informed of the twins’ birth before November 25th. However, Doudna has been all over the place when it comes to the CRISPR twins. She has compared Dr. He’s human gene-editing to Nazi experiments, but she also nominated him for TIME’S 100 Most Influential. And just last week at an ethics talk hosted by Stanford, Doudna said that she received the news of Lulu and Nana’s birth as an exciting progression:

“Could I have predicted the advancements, CRISPR babies? Definitely not, but it was a very exciting progression,” Doudna told the audience at Stanford’s CEMEX auditorium.

As the man responsible for progressing human gene-editing and officially starting a Genetic Revolution, Dr. He Jiankui always had a keen interest in the rapid, revolutionary changes that are happening in the field of genomics. He was particularly excited by the direct-to-consumer genetic testing offered by 23andMe, noting that regular people now have access to a biotechnology that initially took the cooperation of six countries to execute. And during his time as a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, Dr. He took a 23andMe test.

“My genes are very good, and I do not carry any of the 40 congenital diseases genes,” wrote Dr. He in his 2012 science blog after receiving his results, “These results are not bad. After all, to this day, I have never had any disease.”

Dr. He goes on to note that the business model of direct-to-consumer genetic testing such as the one offered by 23andMe, will produce the next Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. First forward to today, and gene-editing might overthrow genetic testing as the new Gold Rush. Harvard, MIT and Doudna’s UC Berkeley are fighting over CRISPR patents, fertility clinics are begging Dr. He to teach their staff how to gene-edit human embryos, biohackers are starting designer baby startups, Russian lawmakers are adjusting Russia’s laws to make them suitable for a world with genetically modified people, and Dr. He is likely on his way to becoming a historical figure more revered, and way more impactful than Bill Gates or Steve Jobs.

As gene-editing becomes more precise and safer, and as some bioethicists ease out of the ongoing CRISPR hysteria to the point that they are predicting ‘ethical’ designer babies will be a reality in two years, will Dr. He Jiankui be vindicated? Will the world accept Lulu and Nana and all their fellow neo-humans of the very near future – who will likely be celebrating November 25th as CRISPR Christmas?