Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×
Biotech Medicine United Kingdom

UK Government Proposes Rules To Allow 'Three-Parent Embryos' 146

sciencehabit writes "The U.K. government today issued proposed regulations that would allow researchers to try a new and controversial in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure in patients. The technique could allow women who are carriers of mitochondrial disease to have healthy, genetically related children. But it also transfers DNA from one egg or embryo into another, a form of genetic alteration that could be passed on to future generations. Altering the genes of human egg cells or embryos in IVF procedures is now forbidden in the United Kingdom."
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

UK Government Proposes Rules To Allow 'Three-Parent Embryos'

Comments Filter:
  • by jeffb (2.718) ( 1189693 ) on Thursday February 27, 2014 @04:46PM (#46361841)

    This is a solution doesn't just allow such women to have healthy, genetically related children. It frees their lineage from the disease. Implement this fix in one generation, and the children, grandchildren, and all their progeny are disease-free.

    I find it incredibly offensive to say that women should be forced to condemn their children to suffer from a preventable disease, or be prevented from bearing genetically-related children, simply because some people think the cure is "unnatural".

  • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 27, 2014 @04:58PM (#46361949)

    I find it incredibly offensive to say that women should be forced to condemn their children to suffer from a preventable disease,

    Then don't have kids. It's still an elective choice.

    or be prevented from bearing genetically-related children, simply because some people think the cure is "unnatural".

    By its very definition of how it's done is unnatural and the long term consequences to the gene pool unknown.

  • No big deal (Score:4, Interesting)

    by wonkey_monkey ( 2592601 ) on Thursday February 27, 2014 @06:55PM (#46363351) Homepage

    My DNA is already a mis-mash of genes from millions of ancestors. What would one more matter?

If you have a procedure with 10 parameters, you probably missed some.

Working...