From this article about creating embryos with DNA from 3 people:
Naturally, this raises moral and political questions about how far we should go when it comes to creating people. How far should we go? Is any "gene swapping" acceptable? Limited gene swapping? Full-on gene swapping?
I'm not aware of any laws that limit this activity. Should we have such laws?
Your opinions are appreciated!
LONDON (AP) - British scientists have created human embryos containing DNA from two women and one man, a procedure that could potentially prevent conditions including epilepsy, diabetes and heart failure.
Though the preliminary research has raised concerns about the possibility of genetically modified babies, the scientists say that the embryos are still only primarily the product of one man and one woman.
"We are not trying to alter genes, we're just trying to swap a small proportion of the bad ones for some good ones," said Patrick Chinnery, a professor of neurogenetics at Newcastle University involved in the research.
The process aims to avoid passing onto children bad mitochondria genes, which are contained outside the nucleus in a normal female egg. Mitochondria are a cell's energy source, but mistakes in their genetic code can result in serious diseases like epilepsy, strokes, and mental retardation.
Naturally, this raises moral and political questions about how far we should go when it comes to creating people. How far should we go? Is any "gene swapping" acceptable? Limited gene swapping? Full-on gene swapping?
I'm not aware of any laws that limit this activity. Should we have such laws?
Your opinions are appreciated!