Zincwarrior
Diamond Member
Following on threads from 2016 about this. Evidently efforts to remove certain genetic diseases via three person IVF were at least partially successful. 1) Wow, efforts to reduce genetic diseases or problems is breathtaking; 2) On the negative is this setting us up for potential abuse with genetic enhancements? Are we looking at future ubermensch?
www.technologyreview.com
The long-awaited results of the 2017 trial suggest that the approach can reduce the risk of mitochondrial disease—but not everyone is convinced.
Eight babies have been born in the UK thanks to a technology that uses DNA from three people: the two biological parents plus a third person who supplies healthy mitochondrial DNA. The babies were born to mothers who carry genes for mitochondrial diseases and risked passing on severe disorders. The eight babies are healthy, say the researchers behind the trial.
"Mitochondrial disease can have a devastating impact on families," Doug Turnbull of Newcastle University, one of the researchers behind the study, said in a statement. "Today's news offers fresh hope to many more women at risk of passing on this condition, who now have the chance to have children growing up without this terrible disease."
Three-parent baby technique could create babies at risk of severe disease
The approach was designed to prevent mitochondrial disease, but new evidence shows it might not work as planned. The study, which makes use of a technology called mitochondrial donation, has been described as a "tour de force" and "a remarkable accomplishment" by others in the field. In the team's approach, patients' eggs are fertilized with sperm, and the DNA-containing nuclei of those cells are transferred into donated fertilized eggs that have had their own nuclei removed. The new embryos contain the DNA of the intended parents along with a tiny fraction of mitochondrial DNA from the donor, floating in the embryos' cytoplasm. "The concept of [mitochondrial donation] has attracted much commentary and occasionally concern and anxiety," Stuart Lavery, a consultant in reproductive medicine at University College Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said in a statement. "The Newcastle team have demonstrated that it can be used in a clinically effective and ethically acceptable way to prevent disease and suffering."
Researchers announce babies born from a trial of three-person IVF
Researchers announce babies born from a trial of three-person IVF
The long-awaited results of the 2017 trial suggest that the approach can reduce the risk of mitochondrial disease—but not everyone is convinced.www.technologyreview.com
The long-awaited results of the 2017 trial suggest that the approach can reduce the risk of mitochondrial disease—but not everyone is convinced.
Eight babies have been born in the UK thanks to a technology that uses DNA from three people: the two biological parents plus a third person who supplies healthy mitochondrial DNA. The babies were born to mothers who carry genes for mitochondrial diseases and risked passing on severe disorders. The eight babies are healthy, say the researchers behind the trial.
"Mitochondrial disease can have a devastating impact on families," Doug Turnbull of Newcastle University, one of the researchers behind the study, said in a statement. "Today's news offers fresh hope to many more women at risk of passing on this condition, who now have the chance to have children growing up without this terrible disease."
Three-parent baby technique could create babies at risk of severe disease
The approach was designed to prevent mitochondrial disease, but new evidence shows it might not work as planned. The study, which makes use of a technology called mitochondrial donation, has been described as a "tour de force" and "a remarkable accomplishment" by others in the field. In the team's approach, patients' eggs are fertilized with sperm, and the DNA-containing nuclei of those cells are transferred into donated fertilized eggs that have had their own nuclei removed. The new embryos contain the DNA of the intended parents along with a tiny fraction of mitochondrial DNA from the donor, floating in the embryos' cytoplasm. "The concept of [mitochondrial donation] has attracted much commentary and occasionally concern and anxiety," Stuart Lavery, a consultant in reproductive medicine at University College Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said in a statement. "The Newcastle team have demonstrated that it can be used in a clinically effective and ethically acceptable way to prevent disease and suffering."
