Monday 1st February 2016- The Guardian: British researchers get green light to genetically modify human embryos

‘Britain’s first genetically modified human embryos could be created within months, after scientists were granted permission to carry out the controversial procedure in a landmark decision by the fertility regulator.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) regulator approved a licence application by Kathy Niakan, a stem cell scientist at the Francis Crick Institute in London, to perform so-called genome editing on human embryos.

The decision permits Niakan to study the embryos for 14 days for research purposes only. It does not permit them to be implanted into women. Niakan’s research is aimed at finding the genes at play in the early days of human fertilisation.

The decision was hailed by the Francis Crick Institute and British scientists but will be met with disquiet by those concerned that rapid advances in the field of genome editing is precluding proper consideration of the ethical implications.’

‘The work, using embryos donated by couples with a surplus after IVF treatment, will look at the fertilised egg’s development from a single cell to around 250 cells. The basic research could help scientists understand why some women lose their babies before term and provide better clinical treatments for infertility, using conventional medical methods.

Niakan will use a powerful genome editing procedure called Crispr-Cas9 to switch genes on and off in early stage human embryos. She will then look for the effects the modifications have on the development of the cells that go on to form the placenta.

Crispr-Cas9 has revolutionised biomedical research since its invention three years ago. It allows scientists to make precise changes to DNA, and has the potential to transform the treatment of genetic disorders by correcting faulty genes.’

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British researchers get green light to genetically modify human embryos

Scientists get ‘gene editing’ go-ahead- BBC News

Scientists in UK get approval for ‘gene editing’- BBC News (video)

British scientists granted permission to genetically modify human embryos- The Telegraph

 

Wednesday 13th January 2016- BBC News: Should scientists be allowed to modify human embryos?

‘The body which regulates fertility research is to consider the first application in the UK to genetically modify human embryos.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) will consider an application from Dr Kathy Niakan to edit human genes for research into miscarriages.

Dr Niakan said the experiments would provide a deeper understanding of the earliest moments of human life and could reduce miscarriages.’

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Should scientists be allowed to modify human embryos?

Kathy Niakan: Scientist makes case to edit embryos- BBC News

Friday 18th September 2015- The Guardian: UK scientists seek permission to genetically modify human embryos

‘Scientists in Britain have applied for permission to genetically modify human embryos as part of a research project into the earliest stages of human development.

The work marks a controversial first for the UK and comes only months after Chinese researchers became the only team in the world to announce they had altered the DNA of human embryos.

Kathy Niakan, a stem cell scientist at the Francis Crick Institute in London, has asked the government’s fertility regulator for a licence to perform so-called genome editing on human embryos. The research could see the first genetically modified embryos in Britain created within months.

Donated by couples with a surplus after IVF treatment, the embryos would be used for basic research only. They cannot legally be studied for more than two weeks or implanted into women to achieve a pregnancy.

Though the modified embryos will never become children, the move will concern some who have called for a global moratorium on the genetic manipulation of embryos, even for research purposes. They fear a public backlash could derail less controversial uses of genome editing, which could lead to radical new treatments for disease.

Niakan wants to use the procedure to find genes at play in the first few days of human fertilisation, when an embryo develops a coating of cells that later form the placenta. The basic research could help scientists understand why some women lose their babies before term.’

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UK scientists seek permission to genetically modify human embryos

Scientists seek permission to genetically modify embryos- BBC News

Friday 10th July 2015- The Guardian: Eliminating intersex babies is not a legitimate use of genetic embryo testing

‘“Designer babies” seems like a concept from a dystopian future, but they’re here now: would-be parents who utilize in-vitro fertilization to conceive often also have the option of genetically testing embryos and then picking which one to implant.

Scientists can test for hundreds of things, from fatal genetic traits like Tay-Sachs and Huntington disease to non-fatal but culturally devalued embodiments like Down syndrome, deafness, blindness and intersex conditions.’

‘Using PGD to select against intersex people is an especially pernicious use of the technology because it is done to reinforce the inadequate sex binary and even to police non-heterosexual, queer attractions or acts.’

See:

Eliminating intersex babies is not a legitimate use of genetic embryo testing

Thursday 30th April 2015- BBC News: US ‘will not fund research for modifying embryo DNA’

‘Modifying the DNA of embryos is a “line that should not be crossed”, a leading figure in US research says.

Dr Francis Collins, National Institutes of Health director, was responding to reports that the first embryos had been modified in China.

He argued there were “serious and unquantifiable safety issues”, big ethical questions and no compelling medical reason to do it.

He said the NIH would not fund such research in the US.

The advent of “Crispr technology” – which is a more precise way of editing DNA than anything that has come before – has spurred huge progress in genetics.

But there had been growing concern these tremendous advances were making the modification of human embryos more likely.’

‘There have been repeated calls for a worldwide freeze on such research while society as a whole decides what should be allowed.

However, the US National Institutes of Health has made its position clear – that no such research should take place.

Dr Collins, who was also a key player in the Human Genome Project, released a statement saying: “The concept of altering the human germline in embryos for clinical purposes has been debated over many years from many different perspectives, and has been viewed almost universally as a line that should not be crossed.’

See:

US ‘will not fund research for modifying embryo DNA’

Friday 24th April 2015- The Independent: Genetically modified embryos: a panacea for mankind – or a crime against scientific ethics?

‘The announcement that Chinese scientists have attempted to genetically engineer human embryos took much of the world by surprise, but for those familiar with the latest gene-editing technology it was a long-anticipated inevitability.

Researchers in China not only revealed that they attempted to modify the genes of “spare” embryos deemed unsuitable for IVF treatment – the first such attempt anywhere in the world – they had done so on an almost industrial scale, involving 86 “non-viable” embryos donated by a nearby fertility clinic.

The study came to public light after it was published in a rather obscure online science journal called Protein & Cell, set up in China to publish peer-reviewed science that cannot find a home in more prestigious international journals such as Nature and Science.’

‘Ever since genome-editing technology Crispr/Cas9 emerged a couple of years ago, scientists had been predicting that it wouldn’t be long before it was used to correct defects in the genes of humans, including those in the “germline” cells of sperm, eggs and embryos, which are passed down the generations.’

‘In short, Crispr promises to eliminate many inherited diseases for good from affected families, but some scientists in Britain were appalled by the Chinese research, arguing that it overstepped the ethical boundary separating good scientific practice from badly-conceived experimentation of dubious ethical standard.

“This is a significant departure from currently accepted research practice. This is because any manipulation of the germline of human embryos is potentially heritable,” said Shirley Hodgson, professor of cancer genetics at St George’s University of London.’

‘Dr Huang told Nature the 86 embryos in his experiment had all been fertilised abnormally by two sperm cells, which would have given them three sets of chromosomes rather than the normal two of a healthy, fertilised egg. These embryos were therefore “non viable” and could not have developed into a foetus even if they had been transplanted into the womb – and he emphasised there was never any intention of this.’

‘The Chinese team reported that 71 embryos survived the experiment and 54 of them had been genetically tested. Of these, 28 embryos had the blood gene “spliced” but only a fraction of those contained the replacement genetic material. More disturbing was the discovery of “off target” effects, when the Crispr complex changed something at the wrong position on the DNA molecule. This could have created new genetic problems for the embryo – if implanted into a womb.’

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Genetically modified embryos: a panacea for mankind – or a crime against scientific ethics?

Scientists successfully genetically modify human embryos, allowing for editing of babies’ genes- The Independent

Judith Woods: Where do we draw the line between playing Darwin and playing God?- The Telegraph