In the News

British scientists on Wednesday approved the use of so-called “three-parent baby” fertility treatments, paving the way for the country to become the first in the world to officially introduce the procedures.

An independent panel of experts tasked with reviewing the safety of mitochondrial gene therapy said the practice should be “cautiously adopted” to prevent certain genetic diseases from being passed on to future generations.

The United Kingdom may soon become the first country to explicitly permit the birth of children from embryos modified to contain three people’s DNA. At the same time, new research backs up concerns that such a treatment — which aims to erase diseases transmitted by the DNA found in cellular structures called mitochondria — may not always be 100% effective.

A healthy baby boy was born on April 6 in Mexico that has some in the medical community rejoicing and others concerned.The divide is due to the method of conception: a three-parent technique called “spindle nuclear transfer,” the details of which were published Tuesday in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

Controversial ‘three-parent baby’ treatments could be introduced in the UK as early as next spring.

This comes after the treatments have received the green light from an independent panel of experts today. Scientists cleared away remaining safety hurdles to recommend ‘cautious adoption’ of mitochondrial replacement therapy for devastating inherited diseases.

Seventeen children conceived through ooplasmic transplantation have all matured with regular health and cognitive abilities, according to a study.

A New York fertility specialist, who said he successfully carried out a “three-parent” in vitro fertilization (IVF) technique resulting in a baby boy, called the procedure a “revolutionary approach in human reproduction.”

John Zhang, medical director of New Hope Fertility Center in New York, spearheaded the technique roughly five months ago with a Jordanian couple at a clinic in Mexico.

A baby boy conceived using a controversial technique that mixes DNA from three people seems to be healthy, according to a hotly anticipated talk by the leader of the team that created the child. John Zhang, a physician at New Hope Fertility Clinic in New York City, offered few other details during his presentation at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s annual meeting on 19 October.

A New York fertility specialist, who said he successfully carried out a “three-parent” in vitro fertilization (IVF) technique resulting in a baby boy, called the procedure a “revolutionary approach in human reproduction.”

A healthy boy is the first to be born using a new technique that uses DNA from three people, reports Jessica Hamzelou.

IT’S a boy! A 5-month-old baby is the first to be born using a new technique that incorporates DNA from three people. “This is great news and a huge deal,” says Dusko Ilic at King’s College London, who wasn’t involved in the work. “It’s revolutionary.

A reported world-first in fertility therapy — a baby boy conceived using a controversial technique that mixes DNA from three people — has made headlines across the world. But with no way of verifying the claim because the specialists behind the procedure will not release data until October, some researchers are questioning the ethics of the procedure. In particular, they ask why the US-based team behind the operation chose to carry it out in Mexico, a country with less-clear oversight of human-embryo modification than, for instance, the United Kingdom or the United States.

Dr. John Zhang of Manhattan’s New Hope Fertility Center has long performed miracles for fertility-challenged couples. In a typical year, his futuristic-looking clinic (its sleek all white-interior looks like something out of a 2001: A Space Odyssey-themed spa) oversees hundreds of births.

A controversial technique that uses DNA from three parents has resulted in the first-ever birth of a child, a team of American scientists in Mexico confirmed Tuesday.
The technology allows parents with rare genetic mutations to have healthy babies and, while not approved in the United States, is legal in the United Kingdom.