Posted on 02/05/2008 11:24:18 AM PST by CarrotAndStick
For procreation, it has always taken two to tango. But scientists from the UK's Newcastle University have taken reproductive biology where it has never gone before - creating a human embryo from three parents, two women and a man.
The scientists believe the technique will help prevent women with diseases of the mitochondria - tiny batteries within each cell that provide energy - from passing on the defects to their children. Mitochodrial DNA is carried from mother to offspring and faults in it can cause about 50 known diseases, some of which lead to disability and death.
Researchers from Newcastle University presented their findings at a medical conference at the weekend, a university spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
According to reports in the British media, the Newcastle team has created 10 successful three-parent embryos from couples at risk of mitochondrial disease. The embryos were fertilized through the conventional in vitro method.
After a day, each embryo was emptied of its pronuclei - structures that contain the sperm and egg which are still separate at this stage. These pronuclei were inserted into an emptied egg from a second woman with healthy mitochondria.
In this way, the team created embryos which contained genetic material from the original parents but had healthy mitochondria from the donor woman.
The embryos grew normally till the fifth day, after which they were terminated.
If the embryos were to be implanted back into the mothers, they would have created the world's first genetically modified babies. The team's experiments with mice have produced healthy offspring.
Professor Patrick Chinnery, a member of the Newcastle team, was quoted by the BBC website as saying: "We believe from this work, and work we have done on other animals that in principle we could develop this technique and offer treatment in the foreseeable future that will give families some hope of avoiding passing these diseases to their children."
One parent, two parents, three parents or ten parents, these embryos are human beings just like you and I.
About Millions of “parents”? A “people’s” child. Of course, since it can’t be parented by so many people, it will be owned by government./socialst utopia
All People are Equal
All Embryos are Equal
killing humans to proove something can be done. how noble.
Imagine the confusion this child will face when trying to identify where he/she comes from?
This kind of research is crossing a line into areas where we shouldn’t go, in my opinion. When people don’t have any morals, ethics, or values, this is when they dream up research such as this to participate in.
"Terminated" is so much easier to say than "murdered."
Heather really will have two mommies.
Three parents?
They’ve created another Chelsea Clinton?
Darn you! You beat me to it!! ;-)
Well, my kids all had about a million potential ‘dads’ going for the gold.
A politician because they will be two faced.
Why would you want to do something like this? My take is that it will improve families' chances of affording the college tuition rates of tomorrow. The Ivy League schools will probably start subsidizing this research to assure themselves of a new generation of students.
I am very sad though that they made these babies, children ONLY of the two parents who wanted them, and then killed them. Heartbreaking.
The mitochondria is from the second woman.
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