Reports of ‘three-parent babies’ multiply

A baby boy conceived using a controversial technique that mixes DNA from three people seems to be healthy, according to a hotly anticipated talk by the leader of the team that created the child. John Zhang, a physician at New Hope Fertility Clinic in New York City, offered few other details during his presentation at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s annual meeting on 19 October.

But one thing is clear: that ‘three-parent’ baby may soon have company — if it does not already. Nature has learnt that a paper in review at an unnamed journal claims that a child conceived using the technique has been born in China. And on 13 October, researchers from Ukraine announced that two women are pregnant with fetuses created with DNA from three people.

Meanwhile, politicians in Mexico — where New Hope’s ‘three-parent’ baby was conceived in its Guadalajara clinic — are mulling over laws to restrict use of the technique. The circumstances of that birth, first reported last month by New Scientist, have also drawn criticism from scientists and bioethicists... see more