Technique to prevent inheritance of disease-causing mitochondria moves closer to clinic. The United Kingdom moved a step closer to legalizing reproductive gene therapy techniques that could prevent children from inheriting certain genetic diseases caused by faulty mitochondria, the cell’s energy producing structures. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) today voted to advise the government on the regulation of the techniques, which are meant to prevent the inheritance of mitochondria — which carry DNA outside the ordinary chromosomes in the nucleus — from mothers whose nuclear DNA is healthy. The procedures involve transferring the nucleus of an egg cell with...