Scientist Create Babies With Three Parents

WDragon

Because Jurassic ParkJurassic Park evidently wasn't a horrible enough warning about the consequences of messing with DNA, foolhardy scientists have developed a technique that allows 'defective' DNA to be removed during IVFIVF treatment, resulting in babies with not two, but three genetic parents.

The treatment was developed to treat mitochondrial diseasemitochondrial disease, a disorder that affects approximately one in 6,500 children and leads to blindness, muscular weaknessmuscular weakness, heart failure and often, death. MitochondriaMitochondria are present in all cells and their role is to act as 'batteries', powering the cell. If they're not working well, neither are a person's cells.

The technique involves taking a fertilized egg and removing the nuclei. This leaves the defective mitochondrial DNA behind. The nuclei are then transplanted into a donor egg, one that's had its nuclei removed but in which mitochondrial DNA still remains. The result is a baby with the bulk of its genetic material coming from its parents, but with a tiny bit of stranger DNA on board as well. The genetic changes are permanent, and remain with all offspring of the original IVF offspring.

At present time, it is illegal to mess around with the genetic material of unborn children, so this treatment is not yet available to the public. Obviously, it raises ethical concerns. Though it is not yet possible to easily change DNA in the nuclei, it will certainly be possible in the future.

If we set a precedent in allowing eggs with faulty mitochondrial DNA to be 'fixed' with a bit of donor DNA, what is there to stop future parents from borrowing DNA from donors for other purposes? What if mom and dad aren't very bright? Is there any reason why they should be prevented from injecting a little genius DNA into the mix? What if you're both red headed and don't want your child to go through life with that stigma? A little shot of dark hair DNA will fix that right up!

Even if we deny parents the right to determine their child's genetic make up, in the future there may be little to stop scientists and perhaps governments engineering people from the ground up. If you're not in favor of this sort of practice, then the fear of a future in which people, as the line from the Matrix goes, are grown, not born, should be a real one. Sooner or later, it will be possible to create people from scratch, and once that technology is available, we're most likely going to use it.

It's almost enough to make one hope reincarnation is real, just for the chance to come back as a human with wings and a prehensile tail, or perhaps simply as a normal human destined to be eaten by a dinosaur hopped up on rage and frog DNA. I'm easy either way.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8619533.stm

Xman

i think managing your own offspring sounds pretty much disturbing to me... I heard there are techs that can help you (or ur wife) decide when to conceive children of a certain gender you want, but I probably wont use it to design my children gender even though i prefer to have boys. anyway, it just sounds wrong...

WDragon

回复 2# Xman


it is wrong

human should never disobey their own god

马甲.真

回复  Xman


human should never disobey their own god
WDragon 发表于 2010-4-20 05:59

agree
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WDragon

回复 4# 马甲.真

^_^