News of the gene-edited babies excludes images of the children’s mother. Cutting her out of the picture underscores the idea that the mother is obsolete and babies can be created in the lab.
Problems in facial development can occur with the skull, face, blood vessels, muscles, jaws and teeth. But it’s the hard palate forming the roof of your mouth that’s most commonly affected.
An embryologist pulls out frozen embryos and egg cells.
(Shutterstock)
The genes in our cells’ mitochondria are passed on in a different way than the vast majority of our DNA. New studies shed light on how the unique process isn’t derailed by mutations.
Americans have moved on from worrying about ‘test-tube babies’ – but there are still ethical challenges to resolve as reproductive technologies continue to advance.
There’s still a way to go from editing single-cell embryos to a full-term ‘designer baby.’
ZEISS Microscopy
The news may have come as a surprise, but it probably shouldn’t have. A bioethics expert walks through how big a deal this announcement is – and what we should be considering now.
She must have had a successful pregnancy.
Ryan Snyder
A new evolutionary perspective on what’s been a medical paradox: Why does the body use inflammation to regulate aspects of pregnancy when inflammation is also a big threat to pregnancy?
Developing lizard embryo beneath placental tissues.
Oliver Griffith
Taking the placenta as a case study, researchers are able to piece together how new organs evolve, by repurposing old tissues and using them to do new jobs.
Well hello, Dolly.
Photo courtesy of The Roslin Institute, The University of Edinburgh.
In 1997, scientists announced they’d created a healthy sheep cloned from another ewe’s mammary gland cell. Two decades on, the technique is being refined and applied to new challenges.
Preconception planning focuses on improving the health of parents to lower the risk of obesity in children.
from www.shutterstock.com
Stem-cell scientists have to work within many limitations placed on their research. One of these is the 14-day rule that outlaws research on pure human embryos over two weeks old.
Recent animal studies show the developing embryo is highly susceptible to environmental changes and the actions of the mother in early stages of pregnancy.
There’s a battle for resources going on in there.
Christian Glatz
Scientists have discovered the genetic “switch” that causes many animals, including fish, frogs and humans, to look the same at a certain point in embryonic development.
Genetic changes to embryos will not only affect the person that embryo becomes but also all their descendants.
anna gutermuth/Flickr
Clinics aren’t compelled to disclose their success rates, so it’s impossible to compare all clinics. Even when they do, the pretty graphs on clinic websites can be difficult to understand.
When cells divide, sometimes chromosomes don’t wind up where they need to go.
Embryo via www.shutterstock.com.
Aneuploidy – when a cell has an irregular number of chromosomes – is a major cause of pregnancy loss. Scientists may have uncovered a gene that increases the risk of aneuploidy.
Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford
Professor - Emerging Technologies (Stem Cells) at The University of Melbourne and Group Leader - Stem Cell Ethics & Policy at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The University of Melbourne