The UK research regulatory board allowed a group of scientists to conduct human gene editing experiments using the CRISPR method. The study could improve fertility treatments and reduce miscarriages, but some fear it marks the birth of designer babies.
The first British experiment on editing human genes has been approved by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), reported FT.com. A group of researchers led by Kath Niakan from London's Francis Crick Institute proposed to use CRISPR to understand the role of genes in early human development. CRISPR is a genetic method that can precisely target and cut DNA in the human embryo.
Francis Crick Institute director Sir Paul Nurse said that Niakan's research proposal will help humans determine the factors that influence fertility. The experiment will begin within a few months after it is approved by the local ethics committee.
The study involves picking out and disabling certain genes using CRISPR to determine their roles in forming the embryo. Niakan and her team will use around 120 donated frozen embryos. After 7 days, the researchers will kill the sample embryos and see any disruptions in their structures. They will try this method on 3 to 4 genes specifically the OCT4 gene.
New Scientist reported that the gene editing experiment could help improve fertility treatments and prevent miscarriages. Genes that are essential to develop healthy embryos and mutations leading to pregnancy failures can be identified.
With these discoveries, it might soon be possible to correct birth defects using germline gene therapy. There were previous attempts by Chinese scientists to conduct such experiments which unfortunately did not yield good results. It was reported that they used abnormal embryos not ideal for the CRISPR method.
Many scientists and patients were in favor of the approval on gene editing research. However, critics said that it raises ethical issues such as man acting as God. Some people fear that the experiments will lead to an era where parents can control the genes of their children, producing so-called designer babies. TIME said that the study also brought up questions on how the technology should be used in a morally and socially accepted way.
The United States does not allow conducting human embryo experiments with the CRISPR technology. Prominent scientists have called for a suspension on the application of such technology on human embryos.
