A medical breakthrough means that creating embryos using DNA from two men or two women may now be possible.
The SundayTimes reports that Researchers from Cambridge University and Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science say they have shown for the first time that human egg and sperm cells can be made from stem cells in the skin of two adults.
Such a breakthrough, now raises the possibility a baby could be “manufactured” in a dish.
The scientists used stem cell lines from embryos as well as from the skin of five different adults.
Researchers have previously created live baby mice using engineered eggs and sperm, but until now have struggled to create a human version of these “primordial germ” or stem cells.
However not everybody is enthusiastic about the medical breakthrough.
The SundayTimes reports that David King, director of the Human Genetics Alert watchdog, said he was “concerned that scientists might view [germ-cell line creation] as a convenient route to creating genetically engineered babies.”
Article | Levi Joule.
