Posted on 04/14/2010 8:08:43 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
Babies with three biological parents could be conceived within three years after research that could stop children from inheriting severe diseases.
Scientists at Newcastle University have grown human embryos after merging DNA from two fertilised eggs, with a technique that could soon be used to prevent serious genetic disorders that affect 100 children in Britain a year.
The aim is to correct faulty “cellular batteries” — mitochondria — which can cause fatal heart, liver, neurological and muscle conditions, by replacing them with healthy ones from a donated embryo. A child would inherit genetic material from three parents. The mother and father would supply 99.8 per cent of its DNA, with a small amount from another woman, the mitochondrial donor.
Doug Turnbull, who led the research, said that it could potentially help families at risk from mitochondrial diseases to have healthy children in as little as three years, although follow-up studies are still needed.
There are regulatory barriers. In Britain it is illegal to place embryos created this way into a womb, but the Health Secretary can rescind the ban without legislating. Alison Murdoch, another leader of the team, said: “I don’t think we have the information yet to go to the Secretary of State. But we think the time is right to enter discussions about what information will be required for the Secretary of State to make that provision.”
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
Strikes me as incredibly short-sighted. How can we even classify a trait as beneficial or not?
Best headline in a while!
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