Tech | January 21, 2012 | 8 comments

Children With DNA From Three Parents Only Three Years Away?

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FreeSpiritMuse
Researchers from Newcastle University have been funded more than $9.3 million by the Wellcome Trust to begin experimenting with a method that could lead to children having DNA from three people to eliminate some genetic disorders.

According to the Telegraph, the technique involves removing the nucleus from a donor cell and inserting a fertilized nucleus from the hopeful couple or the unfertilized nucleus of the mother for fertilization later. This effort, researchers believe, could help couples where the mother has known genetic disorders carried on her mitochondrial DNA — DNA found in the mitochondria of a cell.

Mitochondrial DNA, which composes 0.2 percent of a human‘s DNA and doesn’t influence traits like physical appearance, is passed down from mother to offspring. But, there are several genetic disorders, such as muscular dystrophy and ataxia, which are associated with this type DNA.
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8 comments // Children With DNA From Three Parents Only Three Years Away?

  • Kayshadog
    • 0
      Kayshadog  
    • Blame Hollywood with Sci-Fi and horror movies for knee jerk responses about creating monsters. Evolution has been doing that since time began and we have suffered because of it - birth deformities, etc. We've been at the mercy of hit & miss genetic errors that could be beneficial or catastrophic to our species. Sheer luck has brought us this far. Now for the first time we can interject intelligent guidance to what has up to now been strictly a crap shoot. This is just the beginning of what's to come. Sure like all technologies there are two sides, but the ability to eliminate genetic disease and suffering cannot be ignored.

    • 2 months ago
  • MotherForTruth
  • remanns
  • kbshana
  • remanns
  • remanns
    • +1
      remanns  
    • I also want cybernetic implants, and other augmentations. - so "Society for the Protection of Unborn Children" etc can fuck off - this is not a social change battle they will win. Sorry.

    • 4 months ago
  • remanns
  • FreeSpiritMuse
    • 0
      FreeSpiritMuse  
    • "But, the research is not without its opposition. The Telegraph reports the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children as calling it “macabre and unethical” and cited fears of other “developmental abnormalities”.

    • 4 months ago
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