The Chinese government has ordered an investigation into a scientist who provoked outrage around the world by claiming he used gene editing to alter the DNA of twin girls who were born recently.

China's National Health Commission said that it had "immediately requested the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission to seriously investigate and verify" the claims made by Professor He Jiankui.  The professor uploaded a video to YouTube on Monday claiming he used the CRISPR technique to change the babies' DNA to prevent them from contracting HIV. 

"I understand my work will be controversial - but I believe families need this technology and I'm willing to take the criticism for them," He says in the video.

Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen distanced itself from He and says the professor has been on leave since February.

"The research work was carried out outside the school by Associate Professor He Jiankui.  He did not report to the school or the department of biology.  The university and the biology department are not aware of it," the institution said.  "The Academic Committee of the Department of Biology believes that it seriously violates academic ethics and academic norms."

The professor is under international criticism for what he says he did, and the way he announced it.   Editing the genes of embryos intended for pregnancy is banned in many counties.

"If true, this experiment is monstrous," said bioethicist Julian Savulescu of Britain's Oxford University.  "Gene editing itself is experimental and is still associated with off-target mutations, capable of causing genetic problems early and later in life, including the development of cancer.  There are many effective ways to prevent HIV in healthy individuals: for example, protected sex.  And there are effective treatments if one does contract it."

Professor He's research has not been peer-reviewed, and he didn't offer any evidence that what he claims is real.  While institutions in his country are tripping over each other to distance themselves from He, the professor apparently had one partner.

Rice University in Houston distanced itself from Michael Deem, a bioengineering professor there who claimed he collaborated with He on the project.

"This research raises troubling scientific, legal, and ethical questions," the university said in a statement.  "Rice had no knowledge of this work.  To Rice's knowledge, none of the clinical work was performed in the United States."