Could 'DNA editing' lead to designer babies?

Conclusion This laboratory research using sperm and egg cells from mice demonstrates the use of a system to produce targeted alterations in the DNA – a process the media like to call “genetic editing”. The editing happened just before the genetic material of the egg and sperm cell fuse together. The system makes use of an enzyme (Cas9) capable of cutting bonds within DNA, and a “guide” molecule targeting it to the correct genetic location. So far, the techniques have only been tested in animals, and for “editing out” a small number of genes. However, though this is very early stage research, the results do unavoidably lead to questions about where such technology could lead. ICSI techniques are already widely used in the field of assisted human reproduction. ICSI is where a single sperm is injected into the egg cell, as in this study, as opposed to in vitro fertilisation (IVF), where an egg cell is cultured with many sperm to allow fertilisation to take place “naturally”. Therefore, the use of ICSI makes it theoretically possible that this study may one day lead to similar techniques being possible to edit the human DNA around the time of fertilisation and so prevent inherited diseases, for example. As the research importantly states: “this formal possibility will require exhaustive evaluation”. Such a possibility is always going to be controversial and lead to much ethical and moral debate over whether such steps are “correct” and where they coul...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Genetics/stem cells Medical practice Source Type: news