Page 28 - Aruba Today
P. 28
A28
SCIENCETuesday 2 February 2016
Britain approves controversial gene-editing experiments
MARIA CHENG leads to designer babies, of eugenics,” she said in a
where parents not only aim
AP Medical Writer to avoid inherited diseases statement.
but also seek taller, stron-
LONDON (AP) — In a land- ger, smarter or better-look- Around the world, laws
ing children.
mark decision that some Many religious groups, and guidelines vary widely
including the Catholic
ethicists warned is a step Church, argue that manip- about what kind of re-
ulating embryos amounts
down the path toward to “playing God.” Some search is allowed on em-
scientists have voiced con-
“designer babies,” Britain cern that tinkering with bryos, since such experi-
genes might have unin-
gave scientists approval tended consequences not ments could change the
apparent until after the
Monday to conduct gene- babies are born — or gen- genes of future genera-
erations later. And some
editing experiments on hu- fear such practices will only tions. Countries such as Ja-
widen the gap between
man embryos. rich and poor by enabling pan, China, India and Ire-
the wealthy to create su-
The researchers won’t be perbabies. land have unenforceable
“This is the first step on a
creating babies — the path that scientists have guidelines that restrict edit-
carefully mapped out to-
modified embryos will be wards the legalization” of ing of the human genome.
genetically modified ba-
destroyed after seven days. bies, David King of the ad- Germany and other coun-
vocacy group Human Ge-
Instead, they said, the goal netics Alert said last month tries in Europe limit research
when British regulators took
is to better understand hu- up the issue. on human embryos by law.
Marcy Darnovsky, execu-
man development so as to tive director of the Center Last year, Chinese re-
for Genetics and Society, a
improve fertility treatments nonprofit advocacy group searchers made the first at-
in the U.S., warned that
and prevent miscarriages. tampering with human ge- tempt at modifying genes
netics carries “dire safety
The decision by Britain’s and societal risks.” in human embryos. Their
“Now is the time to ensure
Human Fertilisation and This Aug. 8, 2008 file photo, shows embryos being placed onto that gene editing is not laboratory experiment
a CryoLeaf ready for instant freezing using the vitrification pro- used to create GM ba-
Embryology Authority cess. bies and that we stay off didn’t work. In any case,
the high-tech road to new
marks the first time a coun- Associated Press forms of inequality and to the embryos they used
a consumer-driven form
ty’s national regulator has were never viable, or ca-
approved the technique. don’s new Francis Crick London, said the mecha- pable of developing prop-
Institute, received the OK nisms being investigated by
Permission isn’t explicitly re- to use gene editing to ana- Niakan and her colleagues erly in the womb.
lyze the first week of an em- “are crucial in ensuring
quired in many other coun- bryo’s growth. healthy, normal develop- The CRISPR-Cas9 tech-
The research will “enhance ment and implantation”
tries, including the U.S. and our understanding of IVF and could help doctors nique was developed part-
(in vitro fertilization) suc- refine fertility treatments.
China. The U.S. does not cess rates by looking at the Braude is not connected to ly in the U.S., and scientists
very earliest stage of hu- Niakan’s research.
allow the use of federal man development,” said There are a few methods there have experimented
Paul Nurse, director of the of gene editing, but the
funds for embryo modifica- institute. None of the em- technique Niakan’s team with it in animals and in
bryos will be transferred plans to use is known as
tion, but there is no outright into women. They will be CRISPR-Cas9, a relatively human cells in the labora-
allowed to develop from fast, cheap and simple
ban on gene editing. a single cell to around 250 approach that many re- tory. It has not been used
cells, after which they will searchers are keen to try.
Gene editing involves de- be destroyed. Some critics warn that for any patient therapies,
Peter Braude, a retired pro- tweaking the genetic code
leting, repairing or replac- fessor of obstetrics and gy- this way could be a slip- though Sangamo Biosci-
necology at King’s College pery slope that eventually
ing bits of DNA inside living ences in Richmond, Califor-
cells in a biological cut- nia, is trying to develop an
and-paste technique that HIV treatment.
scientists say could one At an international meet-
day lead to treatments for ing in Washington last year,
conditions like HIV or inher- scientists agreed that at-
ited disorders such as mus- tempts to alter early embry-
cular dystrophy and sickle os as part of laboratory re-
cell disease. search should be allowed
A team led by Kathy but that the technique was
Niakan, an embryo and nowhere near ready for
stem cell specialist at Lon- use in pregnant women.q
