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US scientists first use genetic modification technology to interfere with human embryos.
Shoukhrat Mitalipov, Lead Scientist at the Center for Embryonic Stem Cells and Gene Therapy at the University of Oregon School of Health & Science (OHSU) in Portland, the first person to apply gene modification technology in human embryos, Reuters, 7 reported.
Mitalipov and colleagues used CRISPR technology to quickly and efficiently modify the gene. CRISPR acts as a molecular tracer, eliminates unwanted genes and replaces new DNA.
OHSU research can make a whole difference in the number of human embryos tested and in the ability to safely and accurately reproduce genes responsible for genetic diseases. Edited embryos are not allowed to grow for more than a few days.
Eric Robinson, spokesman for OHSU, said the results of the study may soon be published in a scientific journal. Chinese scientists have published similar studies with different results.
According to scientists and ethics researchers at an international conference at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in Washington, DC, in December 2015, using genetic modification technology in human embryos for therapeutic purposes, responsibility "as long as the issues of safety and effectiveness remain unresolved.
Earlier this year, NAS and the National Institutes of Health said advancements in science have made genetic modification in reproductive cells a real possibility and deserve to be considered.
Some countries in the world have signed an agreement banning the removal of human embryos because of concerns that the technique could be used to create children with genetic traits as desired by parents and scientists.