Deceptive Labeling of a Radical Embryo Construction Technique
By Stuart A. Newman,
The Huffington Post
| 12. 01. 2014
The British Parliament appears poised to give the go-ahead to a set of techniques for generating infants which, if implemented, would constitute the first cases of large-scale human genetic engineering. These techniques are widely referred to - by their scientist-creators and other proponents, by journalists, by bioethicists, by members of regulatory panels, by legislators, and even by some critics of the procedures - as "mitochondrial transfer" or "mitochondrial replacement." These scientifically inaccurate descriptions have been instrumental in easing the way to public acceptance of these manipulations.
What exactly are these techniques? An isolated nucleus from the egg of one woman is inserted into an enucleated (nucleus-lacking) egg of another woman. Done before fertilization, it is called "maternal spindle transfer" (MST). Done after, it is called "pronuclear transfer" (PNT). In fact, no transfer of mitochondria (the organelles that extract energy from fuel molecules and make it available for the cell's functions) is involved in these "three-parent" procedures. So why are they referred to as mitochondrial "transfer" or "replacement"?
The techniques are being promoted as a way of circumventing mitochondrial mutations, which...
Related Articles
The Center for Genetics and Society is delighted to recommend the current edition of GMWatch Review – Number 589. UK-based GMWatch, a long-standing ally, was founded in 1998 by Jonathan Matthews as an independent organization seeking to counter the enormous corporate political power and propaganda of the GMO industry and its supporters. Matthews and Claire Robinson are its directors and managing editors.
CGS works to ensure that social justice, equity, human rights, and democratic governance are front...
By Harry Hunter, PET BioNews | 08.11.2025
The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology has announced plans to publish a POSTnote and called for submissions on surrogacy law in the UK and internationally.
The current UK surrogacy laws, largely based on legislation from the 1980s, have been...
By Cade Metz, The New York Times | 08.04.2025
Image by Mike MacKenzie / CC BY 2.0
In downtown Berkeley, an old hotel has become a temple to the pursuit of artificial intelligence and the future of humanity. Its name is Lighthaven.
Covering much of a city block, this...
By Keith Casebonne and Jodi Beckstine [with CGS' Katie Hasson], Disability Deep Dive | 07.24.2025
In this episode of Disability Deep Dive, hosts Keith and Jodi explore the complex interplay between disability science, technology, and ethics with guest Katie Hasson, Associate Director at the Center for Genetics and Society. The conversation delves into...