BBC: MPs say yes to three person babies
Like many things we see around us, the initial reasoning for allowing a third parent's DNA to be sliced into an embryo seems sound enough; that less than a percent of a third party's DNA can prevent the inheritance of some less than pleasant conditions.
However, like many things we see around us, once the cat is out of the bag, the potential consequences don't seem quite so benign:
Yes, but for how long?
Now, like all scientific discoveries and techniques, it won't be long before this technique is available in the private sector around the world; a place where if you have enough $$$, anything and everything is available.
Perhaps I am being slightly ridiculous, but I can't help but think of HG Wells' prediction of a two-tier human race taking one step closer as a result of these techniques,the Eloi and Morlocks foretold by Wells in his 1895 novel The Time Machine: a genetic upper class and a dim-witted underclass.
Will my children be able, if they can afford it, to have their unborn embryo's spliced with the DNA of a world class sportsman, a nobel winning scientist, a Victoria Secret's model?
There are just too many fucked up scenarios one can predict from widespread application of this technology.
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The first attempt could take place this year, which could lead to the first birth in 2016.
Like many things we see around us, the initial reasoning for allowing a third parent's DNA to be sliced into an embryo seems sound enough; that less than a percent of a third party's DNA can prevent the inheritance of some less than pleasant conditions.
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Mitochondria are the tiny compartments inside nearly every cell of the body that convert food into useable energy. They have their own DNA, which does not affect characteristics such as appearance.
Defective mitochondria are passed down only from the mother. They can lead to brain damage, muscle wasting, heart failure and blindness.
The technique uses a modified version of IVF to combine the DNA of the two parents with the healthy mitochondria of a donor woman.
It results in babies with 0.1% of their DNA from the second woman and is a permanent change that would be passed down through the generations.
However, like many things we see around us, once the cat is out of the bag, the potential consequences don't seem quite so benign:
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Fiona Bruce, the MP for Congleton, countered: "[This] will be passed down generations, the implications of this simply cannot be predicted.
"But one thing is for sure, once this alteration has taken place, as someone has said, once the gene is out of the bottle, once these procedures that we're asked to authorise today go ahead, there will be no going back for society."
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Last week the Catholic and Anglican Churches in England said the idea was not safe or ethical, not least because it involved the destruction of embryos.
Other groups, including Human Genetics Alert, say the move would open the door to further genetic modification of children in the future - so-called designer babies, genetically modified for beauty, intelligence or to be free of disease.
David King, from the campaign group, said: "Once you cross the ethical line, it is very hard not to take the next step of designer babies."
Dr Gillian Lockwood, a reproductive ethicist, told the BBC it was a "small change" in the legislation.
"The biggest problem is that this has been described as three-parent IVF. In fact it is 2.001-parent IVF," she said.
"Less than a tenth of one per cent of the genome is actually going to be affected. It is not part of what makes us genetically who we are.
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"It doesn't affect height, eye colour, intelligence, musicality."
Yes, but for how long?
Now, like all scientific discoveries and techniques, it won't be long before this technique is available in the private sector around the world; a place where if you have enough $$$, anything and everything is available.
Perhaps I am being slightly ridiculous, but I can't help but think of HG Wells' prediction of a two-tier human race taking one step closer as a result of these techniques,the Eloi and Morlocks foretold by Wells in his 1895 novel The Time Machine: a genetic upper class and a dim-witted underclass.
Will my children be able, if they can afford it, to have their unborn embryo's spliced with the DNA of a world class sportsman, a nobel winning scientist, a Victoria Secret's model?
There are just too many fucked up scenarios one can predict from widespread application of this technology.