UK doctors to seek permission to create baby with DNA from three people
By Ian Sample,
The Guardian
| 11. 30. 2016
Specialists poised to offer mitochondrial replacement therapy if government’s fertility regulator approves the treatment
Doctors will seek permission this month to create Britain’s first baby from the DNA of three people if the government’s fertility regulator approves the treatment for carefully chosen patients.
Specialists in Newcastle are ready to offer mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT) to women who are in danger of passing on devastating and often fatal genetic disorders to their children. The conditions affect about one in 10,000 births.
A scientific review commissioned by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) concluded on Wednesday that the therapy should be approved for “cautious clinical use” when children are at risk of inheriting specific genetic diseases.
The HFEA will now consider the findings and invite clinics to apply for licences if it endorses the recommendations at a meeting on 15 December. Last year, parliament changed the law to allow MRT, but scientists continued with further experiments to assess the treatment’s safety.
The Newcastle team has already selected patients who may be suitable for the therapy and plans to submit a licence...
Related Articles
Media coverage of recent developments in embryo gene editing might seem to suggest that gene-edited babies are close to becoming a reality. As tech billionaires eager to profit off of techno-eugenics invest in “designer baby” technologies, attempts to normalize heritable genome editing – which remains unsafe and raises significant ethical and societal concerns – are especially dangerous. It’s worth taking a closer look at these developments and what they mean, in a way that pushes back on narratives normalizing the...
By Roxanne Khamsi, The Atlantic | 07.07.2026
When Ludivine Verboogen and Romain Alderweireldt’s third child was born in Belgium in late 2015, they marveled at his long fingers. Perhaps one day he will be a famous pianist, they thought. But soon Ludivine grew worried that her son...
By Carl Zimmer and Marco Hernandez , The New York Times | 07.01.2026
Scientists have long dreamed of discovering the alchemy by which chemicals can be turned into life. On Wednesday, a team at the University of Minnesota announced that it had taken a major step toward that vision.
Blending together dozens of...
By Michael Le Page , New Scientist | 06.25.2026
We now know the master gene that controls embryonic development in people. Called NANOG, its role has been identified by making precise changes to the DNA of fertilised eggs using a technique called CRISPR base editing.
The discovery might lead...
