New in vitro fertilization techniques remove defect DNA by mixing eggs.

22 Apr New in vitro fertilization techniques remove defect DNA by mixing eggs.

Remember Aldus Huxley’s ‘decanting bottles’? Or Gattaca? Well, that future is already here – kind of.

Two methods of splicing human eggs during in vitro fertilization can rule out diseases linked to mutations in the Mitochondria, or the cellular structures that produce energy for the cell. Mitochondria mutations cause diseases like diabetes, deafness, blindness, and neurological problems. When chromosomes are injected into a healthy egg, the embryo inherits the most of its DNA from the parent except for the structural elements from the donor egg.

It is difficult to see how this method will produce designer babies beyond elimination of certain targeted diseases though.

Source: Discover Blog

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