Genetically modified babies born

[Mr. Laz]

A beginning or the beginning of the end?


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World's first GM babies born
The world's first genetically modified humans have been created, it was revealed last night.

The disclosure that 30 healthy babies were born after a series of experiments in the United States provoked another furious debate about ethics.

So far, two of the babies have been tested and have been found
to contain genes from three 'parents'.

Fifteen of the children were born in the past three years as a result of one experimental programme at the Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science of St Barnabas in New Jersey.

The babies were born to women who had problems conceiving. Extra genes from a female donor were inserted into their eggs before they were fertilised in an attempt to enable them to conceive.

Genetic fingerprint tests on two one-year- old children confirm that they have inherited DNA from three adults --two women and one man.

The fact that the children have inherited the extra genes and incorporated them into their 'germline' means that they will, in turn, be able to pass them on to their own offspring.

Altering the human germline - in effect tinkering with the very make-up of our species - is a technique shunned by the vast majority of the world's scientists.Geneticists fear that one day this method could be used to create new races of humans with extra, desired characteristics such as strength or high intelligence.

Writing in the journal Human Reproduction, the researchers, led by fertility pioneer Professor Jacques Cohen, say that this 'is the first case of human germline genetic modification resulting in normal healthy children'.

Some experts severely criticised the experiments.

Lord Winston, of the Hammersmith Hospital in West London, told the BBC yesterday: 'Regarding the treat-ment of the infertile, there is no evidence that this technique is worth doing . . . I am very surprised that it was even carried out at this stage. It would certainly not be allowed in Britain.'

John Smeaton, national director of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, said: 'One has tremendous sympathy for couples who suffer infertility problems. But this seems to be a further illustration of the fact that the whole process of in vitro fertilisation as a means of conceiving babies leads to babies being regarded as objects on a production line.

'It is a further and very worrying step down the wrong road for humanity.'
Professor Cohen and his colleagues diagnosed that the women were infertile because they had defects in tiny structures in their egg cells, called mitochondria.

They took eggs from donors and, using a fine needle, sucked some of the internal material - containing 'healthy' mitochondria - and injected it into eggs from the women wanting to conceive.

Because mitochondria contain genes, the babies resulting from the treatment have inherited DNA from both women. These genes can now be passed down the germline along the maternal line.

A spokesman for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which regulates 'assisted reproduction' technology in Britain, said that it would not license the technique here because it involved altering the germline.

Jacques Cohen is regarded as a brilliant but controversial scientist who has pushed the boundaries of assisted reproduction technologies.

He developed a technique which allows infertile men to have their own children, by injecting sperm DNA straight into the egg in the lab.
Prior to this, only infertile women were able to conceive using IVF.
Last year, Professor Cohen said that his expertise would allow him to clone children --a prospect treated with horror by the mainstream scientific community.

'It would be an afternoon's work for one of my students,' he said, adding that he had been approached by 'at least three' individuals wishing to create a cloned child, but had turned down their requests.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz2sge0RylE
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[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by rtmike

Thanks for the interest.

A while back I was going to a gym working with a personal trainer. It was crazy, my right thigh muscle grew but my left one didn't. When I flexed (sporadic feeling below waist) the muscles bulged on the right but not left.

I don't know a lot about atrophy except I now have a couple toothpicks which is unfortunate since I'd always had pretty muscular legs'.

I wonder what effect HGH,Test etc would have on the regrowth process?

[ChiefaRoo]

Originally Posted by Mr. Laz

we are going to **** our species up.

We aren't even smart enough to govern ourselves. What is going to happen when we really start altering our genetic code only to find out in 3 generations those modifications aren't compatible and we are going extinct.

Meh, we could use some improvement. Have you seen some of the fooked up mouth breathers walking/waddling around out there in the world?

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by ChiefaRoo

Meh, we could use some improvement. Have you seen some of the fooked up mouth breathers walking/waddling around out there in the world?

we aren't improving emotions,morals,kindness etc

we are just making healthier,stronger and longer living mouth breathers.

[suzzer99]

Originally Posted by AustinChief

I have an issue of OMNI magazine (anyone remember that???) from like 1985 that discussed many of the "ground breaking" techniques we here about now in the mainstream media. Hard to imagine we just sat on the tech for the last 30 some years.

EDIT: Ok I just checked it was 1988. And yes I know that OMNI was the trashy tabloid of science mags but what was great about it was they would publish ANYTHING and let you decide what had merit. You got tons of garbage but also tons of stuff that was ahead of its time. Oh and I was 13/14 in 1988 so don't judge me!

I liked when they had the sexy surrealist paintings.

[ChiefaRoo]

Originally Posted by Mr. Laz

we aren't improving emotions,morals,kindness etc

we are just making healthier,stronger and longer living mouth breathers.

Yeah, so? I'll take an Eli Manning type and his mouth breathing athleticism over some 300lb chick waddling around Wal-Mart.