Three Parent Embryo Created in Lab
By Steven Ferdin
Scientists in Newcastle University, Northern England, created a three parent embryo consisting of one father and two mothers. By having two womenʼs DNA in an embryo, scientists hope to prevent genetic faults in the mitochondria which can cause over fifty diseases that can potentially cause life-long disability and can even be fatal. Mitochondria are responsible for processing food into energy and can cause serious problems if damaged due to the buildup of biological poison. About one in 50,000 children suffer from diseases cause by mitochondrion faults passed from their mother including fatal liver, muscular dystrophy, diabetes and deafness. This procedure would prevent these faults from developing in the fetus before it is conceived.
To avoid any moral backlash, the three parent embryos were allowed to develop without outside interference, then to be destroyed after six days. Despite the potential medical benefits it can draw, it produced critics with pro-life and other groups questioning the morality of the procedure. Does tampering with our genetic code for life saving medical advances outweigh the potential risk that might occur?
Sources
BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/
7227861.stm)
biotech-weblog.com (http://www.biotech-weblog.com/
50226711/threeparent_embryo.php)
Yahoo News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080205/
od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_embryo_parents)
admin @ April 22, 2008