Posted on 06/28/2012 3:02:56 PM PDT by opentalk
The world's first genetically modified humans have been created, it was revealed last night.
The disclosure that 30 healthy babies were born after a series of experiments in the United States provoked another furious debate about ethics.
So far, two of the babies have been tested and have been found to contain genes from three 'parents'.
Fifteen of the children were born in the past three years as a result of one experimental programme at the Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science of St Barnabas in New Jersey.
The babies were born to women who had problems conceiving. Extra genes from a female donor were inserted into their eggs before they were fertilised in an attempt to enable them to conceive.
Genetic fingerprint tests on two one-year-old children confirm that they have inherited DNA from three adults --two women and one man.
The fact that the children have inherited the extra genes and incorporated them into their 'germline' means that they will, in turn, be able to pass them on to their own offspring.
Altering the human germline -in effect tinkering with the very make-up of our species -is a technique shunned by the vast majority of the world's scientists.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Did they name one of them Flinx?
I would have thought this type of human experimentation is already illegal. If not, we need to pass a law. Humans are not tinker toys to be played with by jerks in lab coats.
Mitrochondrial defects, as birth defects, are very rare in people because they are so often fatal even before birth. This technique, of adding mitrochondria, increases the risk of these serious and generally fatal disorders.
There is also the massive legal liability, since couples coming in for designer babies are even more likely to sue for millions for a child born with any defect.
Frighteningly, I dont think this is a lack of thought about ethics. I think they knew exactly what they were doing, and even that it is a “good idea”.
My kid was fertilized in vitro, and had a few genes from
a famous porn star inserted, so he will have a rather large
endowment./S
So, apparently, they have mitochondria from one woman and the nuclear DNA from another woman. The children are not genetically modified.
I really don’t have a problem with that.
I have a problem with going to great lengths to get women to conceive. If a couple can’t conceive naturally, that means there is something wrong... by enabling them to bear children anyway, that means there is a good chance of passing that defect along, when it would naturally be eliminated. I don’t think it will take many generations for medical intervention to be necessary for a significant proportion of the population to reproduce... is that really a desirable outcome?
> “the babies have been tested and have been found to contain genes from three ‘parents’.”
Half man, half bear, and half pig.
*rimshot*
:)
Genetic fingerprint tests on two one-year- old children confirm that they have inherited DNA from three adults --two women and one man.
The fact that the children have inherited the extra genes and incorporated them into their 'germline' means that they will, in turn, be able to pass them on to their own offspring.
Altering the human germline - in effect tinkering with the very make-up of our species - is a technique shunned by the vast majority of the world's scientists.
Geneticists fear that one day this method could be used to create new races of humans with extra, desired characteristics such as strength or high intelligence.
Very disturbing. This is completely altering God's plan and natural design of the human race. This is the problem with IVF. First they start creating human beings in labs, and they dispose of "extra" or "imperfect" created human beings. They then design human beings with ideal characteristics with people picking sperm and egg donors and scientists selecting the "best" embryos of the created bunch. At some point, I'm sure they'll be able to determine which embryos have certain mental and physical charateristics. Now they've gotten to the point where they are creating human beings with three parents. The homosexual community will love this by the way because it enables them to have their own biological children. As you read, a further step is to "create new races of humans with extra, desired characteristics such as strength or high intelligence."
Writing in the journal Human Reproduction, the researchers, led by fertility pioneer Professor Jacques Cohen, say that this 'is the first case of human germline genetic modification resulting in normal healthy children'.
How many times has this occured that hasn't resulted in "normal healthy children?"
Some experts severely criticised the experiments. Lord Winston, of the Hammersmith Hospital in West London, told the BBC yesterday: 'Regarding the treat-ment of the infertile, there is no evidence that this technique is worth doing . . . I am very surprised that it was even carried out at this stage. It would certainly not be allowed in Britain.'
You know it's bad when this is not permitted in liberal Britain. The United States is going to have to answer to God for this disrespect of human life. We have the most liberal abortion laws in the world, allow sex selective IVF and abortion, and now are creating children with THREE parents. The slope just keeps on sliding. Never underestimate the depths to which they will sink.
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“So, apparently, they have mitochondria from one woman and the nuclear DNA from another woman. The children are not genetically modified.
I really don’t have a problem with that.”
Um, these children have the genetic fingerprint of THREE parents - they most certainly ARE genetically modified. And you don’t have a problem with that???? Are you joking?
I thinking of the scariest parts of the Holy Bible.....
I had a similar initial reaction - What's new? Babies have been getting conceived in the back seats of Chevys for decades.
http://www.barnabashealth.org/hospitals/saint_barnabas/aboutus/index.html#about
Check the website......I don’t think they’re Catholic
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