Genetically Modified Humans - Coming This Year
Share this article
http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2014/January31/314.html
England is on the verge of passing a new law that would involve making a new form of IVF (in vitro fertilization) available to couples. This new form of IVF would include DNA from three parents, and if passed, would be the first law to allow for pre-birth DNA modification.
The new procedure involves replacing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to avoid destructive cell mutations. Mitochondria convert energy from food into what our cells need to function, and they carry their own DNA apart from the nuclear DNA in our chromosomes where most of our genetic information is stored. Only the mother passes on mtDNA to the child, and it can sometimes contain mutations that can lead to serious health problems or genetic defects.
To put some numbers behind the science, an estimated 1 in five to ten thousand people carry mtDNA that contains mutations. These mutations can lead to such things as blindness, diabetes, dementia, epilepsy and several other impairments.
In terms applicable to the United States, that would be the equivalent of 1000-4000 children born here, each year and some of the mutations lead to fatal diseases, like Leigh Syndrome, for example, which is a rare neurological disorder that emerges in infancy and progressively destroys the ability to think and move.
By combining normal mtDA from a donor with the nucleus from a prospective mother’s egg, the newborn is theoretically free from mutations that would eventually lead to one or more of these disorders. While never tried in humans, researchers have successfully tested the procedure in rhesus monkeys.
In March of 2013, the UK Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority concluded a lengthy study that codified safety and ethical considerations, and advised parliament to approve the procedure in humans. The soonest that such a vote would take place would be July of this year.
If the procedure overcomes the initial Parliamentary hurdles, it would still take several months to pass into law, but the initial vote will allow researchers to begin recruiting couples for the first human mtDNA replacement trials.
It should be noted that here in the US, we are not nearly as close to approving mtDNA replacement. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration won’t even start looking at the data until sometime in February. Among the concerns already brought to light are the potential parental rights of the co-donor.
Even though the donor would be contributing just 0.1 percent of the child’s total DNA, we don’t yet have a benchmark to judge the issue against. Who is to say what percentage of a person’s DNA must come from another human to constitute biological parenthood?
Another major concern centers around the compatibility of donor mtDNA with the host nucleus and believe the push to legalize human trials is premature. By artificially separating mtDNA from the nucleus, these researchers argue, we may be short-circuiting levels of genetic communication that we’re only beginning to fully understand.
There will likely be other issues besides these that get raised in the months ahead. Nonetheless, this is a conversation that is happening, and one thing is sure: we’re rapidly moving into new and deeper waters, and chances are we’re going to need a bigger boat.
(H/T: Forbes)
Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2014/January31/314.html#bljfcrMPyrP4jXJ8.99
Share this article
http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2014/January31/314.html
England is on the verge of passing a new law that would involve making a new form of IVF (in vitro fertilization) available to couples. This new form of IVF would include DNA from three parents, and if passed, would be the first law to allow for pre-birth DNA modification.
The new procedure involves replacing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to avoid destructive cell mutations. Mitochondria convert energy from food into what our cells need to function, and they carry their own DNA apart from the nuclear DNA in our chromosomes where most of our genetic information is stored. Only the mother passes on mtDNA to the child, and it can sometimes contain mutations that can lead to serious health problems or genetic defects.
To put some numbers behind the science, an estimated 1 in five to ten thousand people carry mtDNA that contains mutations. These mutations can lead to such things as blindness, diabetes, dementia, epilepsy and several other impairments.
In terms applicable to the United States, that would be the equivalent of 1000-4000 children born here, each year and some of the mutations lead to fatal diseases, like Leigh Syndrome, for example, which is a rare neurological disorder that emerges in infancy and progressively destroys the ability to think and move.
By combining normal mtDA from a donor with the nucleus from a prospective mother’s egg, the newborn is theoretically free from mutations that would eventually lead to one or more of these disorders. While never tried in humans, researchers have successfully tested the procedure in rhesus monkeys.
In March of 2013, the UK Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority concluded a lengthy study that codified safety and ethical considerations, and advised parliament to approve the procedure in humans. The soonest that such a vote would take place would be July of this year.
If the procedure overcomes the initial Parliamentary hurdles, it would still take several months to pass into law, but the initial vote will allow researchers to begin recruiting couples for the first human mtDNA replacement trials.
It should be noted that here in the US, we are not nearly as close to approving mtDNA replacement. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration won’t even start looking at the data until sometime in February. Among the concerns already brought to light are the potential parental rights of the co-donor.
Even though the donor would be contributing just 0.1 percent of the child’s total DNA, we don’t yet have a benchmark to judge the issue against. Who is to say what percentage of a person’s DNA must come from another human to constitute biological parenthood?
Another major concern centers around the compatibility of donor mtDNA with the host nucleus and believe the push to legalize human trials is premature. By artificially separating mtDNA from the nucleus, these researchers argue, we may be short-circuiting levels of genetic communication that we’re only beginning to fully understand.
There will likely be other issues besides these that get raised in the months ahead. Nonetheless, this is a conversation that is happening, and one thing is sure: we’re rapidly moving into new and deeper waters, and chances are we’re going to need a bigger boat.
(H/T: Forbes)
Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2014/January31/314.html#bljfcrMPyrP4jXJ8.99
No comments:
Post a Comment