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Embryo Made Using Three People's DNA
February 07, 2008 07:57 AM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
British researchers have developed an embryo from the DNA of two women and one man. They hope the procedure will lead to the creation of embryos free of inherited diseases.
30-Second Summary
The researchers used embryos created from the egg of one woman and the sperm of one man.
They then removed the defective mitochondria, the parts of a cell that produce energy, from the woman’s egg. They replaced these with the healthy mitochondria from a second woman cells.
Scientists hope that this research can help them create embryos that are free of inherited diseases.
Researchers commented that the embryo is still fundamentally the product of two parents, because the nucleus of the egg is left alone in the process.
"Most of the genes that make you who you are are inside the nucleus," Professor and researcher Patrick Chinnery said. "We're not going anywhere near that."
Scientists have thus far created 10 embryos using the procedure, but they have not been allowed to develop past five days.
They then removed the defective mitochondria, the parts of a cell that produce energy, from the woman’s egg. They replaced these with the healthy mitochondria from a second woman cells.
Scientists hope that this research can help them create embryos that are free of inherited diseases.
Researchers commented that the embryo is still fundamentally the product of two parents, because the nucleus of the egg is left alone in the process.
"Most of the genes that make you who you are are inside the nucleus," Professor and researcher Patrick Chinnery said. "We're not going anywhere near that."
Scientists have thus far created 10 embryos using the procedure, but they have not been allowed to develop past five days.
Headline Links: Scientist create embryo with three parents
Professor Patrick Chinnery of Newcastle University explains the purpose of the research: "We are not trying to alter genes, we're just trying to swap a small proportion of the bad ones for some good ones.”
Source: Yahoo News
The human embryo used the nucleus from the egg of one woman and the healthy mitochondria from another woman. Errors in mitochondria can lead to mental retardation, epilepsy and even strokes.
Source: Discovery News
Related Links: ‘Fetus with Three Parents Created’
In 2003, scientists in China fused the cytoplasm from one woman’s healthy egg with the nucleus of another woman who had genetically defective cytoplasm. The egg was then fertilized by a man’s sperm. Scientists from Sun Yat-Sen University transplanted five of the three-parent embryos into the woman whose egg’s nucleus was used. She became pregnant with triplets and then had a miscarriage.
Source: The BBC
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