Baby with DNA from 3 "parents" born

[LadyStanley]

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2016/09/27/baby-born-dna-3-people-controversial-technique/

The mother carries DNA that could have given her child Leigh syndrome, a severe neurological disorder that usually kills within a few years of birth. Her two previous children died of the disease at 8 months and 6 years, the research summary said.

The technique involved removing some of the mother’s DNA from an egg, and leaving the disease-causing DNA behind. The healthy DNA was slipped into a donor’s egg, which was then fertilized. As a result, the baby inherited DNA from both parents and the egg donor.

The technique is sometimes said to produce “three-parent babies,†but the DNA contribution from the egg donor is very small.

Mom, dad, egg donor.

Not approved for use in US.

Click to read more...

 

[chicagoskycam]

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2016/09/27/baby-born-dna-3-people-controversial-technique/



Mom, dad, egg donor.

Not approved for use in US.

Gattaca - It's coming.

 

[jimmythescot]

EDIT: Wait, this is the science section.

It does raise questions on where this could lead, but for now I'm all for this.

 

[AfroThunder396]

"Three parent" is a term that's not very endearing to the general audience. It sounds so unnatural. Those who aren't scientifically literate are going to imagine some sort of bizarre sexual perversion, or Resident Evil style gene splicing, or whatever Frankenstein experiment their mind can come up with.

In all realistic functionality this is just a routine transformation + IVF surrogacy. Having some else's mitochondria isn't a big deal. If they came up with a better name no one would care.

Interesting how this gets the rounds in mainstream media, but no one seems to care about CRISPR/CAS9 which IMO is something the general public would be terrified of if they were aware of it. CRISPR is very much the easy to use gene "editing" tool that could lead to the designer babies everyone is so scared of (I bet they'll still look cute though).

 

[LT]

"Three parent" is a term that's not very endearing to the general audience. It sounds so unnatural. Those who aren't scientifically literate are going to imagine some sort of bizarre sexual perversion, or Resident Evil style gene splicing, or whatever Frankenstein experiment their mind can come up with.

In all realistic functionality this is just a routine transformation + IVF surrogacy. Having some else's mitochondria isn't a big deal. If they came up with a better name no one would care.

Interesting how this gets the rounds in mainstream media, but no one seems to care about CRISPR/CAS9 which IMO is something the general public would be terrified of if they were aware of it. CRISPR is very much the easy to use gene "editing" tool that could lead to the designer babies everyone is so scared of (I bet they'll still look cute though).

Agreed. I dislike the media for a lot of things, this being one example.

CRISPR is almost certainly headed in that direction, unless regulation gets put in place quickly. Money talks, though, and if people are willing to pay, I'm sure that there are doctors who would be willing to provide these "designer babies".

Its all interesting to read about. Definitely something to look out for in the near future.