UK EDGING TOWARDS 'GM BABIES'?
And we have a new meaning for GM - not General Motors, for assembly-line cars, but GENETIC MODIFICATION, for assembly-line babies.
Law change may bring 'designer babies'
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
Daily Telegraph
25/02/2007
Britain could become the first country to sanction the genetic alteration of human embryos, a step that a pressure group claims could pave the way to designer babies.
A decade after the cloning of Dolly the sheep, the Government is opening the door to GM (genetically-modified) human embryos for research, according to Human Genetics Alert.
David King, its director, said: "In a world first, the Government has said it will allow scientists to begin developing the technology for genetic modification of human beings, although creation of actual GM babies will be prohibited for the moment. We believe the public will be horrified."
There is a need for a public debate on genetic alteration of embryos said HGA. It said that it could eventually lead to "germ-line" gene therapy, where DNA changes are passed down generations, and to genetic enhancement, where embryos are altered to boost intelligence or for cosmetic purposes.
A draft Bill for legislation to replace the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 is being prepared with the intention of including a full Bill in the Queen's Speech next November. But Mr King called on the Government to "draw the line" at GM embryos.
Although the White Paper says genetic alterations of eggs, sperm and embryos "should not be permitted for reproductive purposes," it adds that this is only "for the foreseeable future, and until such time as safety and efficacy are assured".
The paper says the Government "is not, however, convinced of the need to preclude research activities that would involve altering the genetic structure of the embryo".
Dr Michael Antoniou, a gene therapist at Guy's Hospital, London, was concerned that even though germ-line therapy was too dangerous to attempt, the White Paper signalled the acceptance of safe germ-line modification of embryos.
Dr Richard Nicholson, the editor of the Bulletin of Medical Ethics, said:
"Every country that has legislated on this subject has banned it.
"Thus the British Government's decision breaks ranks with the international community, and may lead to the perception that Britain is a haven for irresponsible and profit-driven scientists."
A Department for Health spokesman said: "Any sanction of the genetic alteration of human embryos is in the context of research only.
"The Government proposes that the law will continue to ban genetic modification of embryos for reproductive purposes. Moreover we will extend that prohibition to explicitly cover sperm and eggs."
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But looking back on Mr. Highfield's file, he had a report last year that already heralded the imminence of'designer babies' in Britain, only in this case, to eliminate the possiboity of an inherited disease.
Designer babies to wipe out diseases approved
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
09/09/2005
Scientists have been given approval for experiments that could lead within a few years to the first genetically altered babies being born in Britain.
The controversial decision to approve a radical form of gene transplant offers the first realistic hope of an effective treatment for an entire class of serious genetic diseases.
A baby could be a blend of genes from one man and two women
A team at the University of Newcastle hopes, in as few as three years, to combine IVF with cell and genetic surgery to wipe out diseases caused by the equivalent of faulty batteries in cells, including muscular dystrophy.
To do this, it would create a baby that would, in effect, be a blend of genes from one man and two women. If a girl were born in this way, her genetic alterations would be passed to future generations to free them of potentially deadly disorders, too.
Campaigners from the pro-life movement said the decision by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to license the work represented an unacceptable step towards the creation of "designer babies" - a baby with two mothers who threatened the family unit.
Josephine Quintavalle, of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said the authority had disregarded public opinion. The Human Genetics Alert watchdog said the decision marked the first step towards human genetic engineering.
The Newcastle team wants to employ its method to wipe out 50 or so metabolic disorders linked to faults in a small set of genes outside the nucleus of cells.
These mitochondrial genes make and run the chemical "batteries" that power body cells. In effect, the new technique would be like changing a battery in a computer without affecting the hard disk.
When there are faults in mitochondrial genes, which are passed only from women to their children, the results can vary from mild to catastrophic.
Sometimes a woman with malfunctioning mitochondria will suffer only migraine. But, for reasons that are not understood, she can pass on many more of her mitochondrial defects to her children. The resulting metabolic turmoil can cause the build-up of lactic acid that will damage the brain, muscle, heart and liver. Hundreds of families in Britain suffer from these incurable diseases.
Prof Doug Turnbull, the leader of the Newcastle team, told The
Daily Telegraph last night that he was "delighted" by the authority's decision.
When considering the application twice before, the authority cited the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, which prohibits "altering the genetic structure of any cell while it forms part of an embryo". However, its appeal committee heard that the phrase "genetic structure" had no precise scientific meaning.
Another objection rested on the ban on any proposal to change the nuclei of cells, the technique used to clone Dolly the sheep. But the Newcastle method is significantly different from cloning.
Prof Azim Surani, professor of physiology and reproduction at Cambridge University, said: "It does not involve making a copy of an existing adult.
"I also see few ethical problems, as we are dealing with the embryo at a very early stage when the cells have not even started to divide yet."
Prof John Burn, of the department of clinical medical sciences at Newcastle University, said the decision would not lead to designer babies.
"I would use the analogy of simply replacing the battery in a pocket radio to explain what we are doing," he said. "You are not altering the radio at all, just giving it a new power source."
Prof Peter Braude, of King's College London, welcomed the authority's decision.
"If [the technique] works and is safe it will be the answer to the prayers of those people afflicted by these awful mitochondrial genetic disorders, for which there is no treatment."
Dr David Harrison, the head of research at the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, said: "The innovative approach being tested by Prof Turnbull may lead to a treatment for mitochondrial myopathies, a group of conditions that dramatically affects the quality and length of life."
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 25/02/2007 20.17]