Scientists get 'gene editing' go-ahead

全文聯結 ：Scientists get 'gene editing' go-ahead

By James Gallagher

Health editor, BBC News website

• 1 February 2016
 
• From the sectionHealth
 
• 1136comments

Image copyrightSPL

UK scientists have been given the go-ahead by the fertility regulator to genetically modify human embryos.

It is the first time a country has considered the DNA-altering technique in embryos and approved it.

The research will take place at the Francis Crick Institute in London and aims to provide a deeper understanding of the earliest moments of human life.

It will be illegal for the scientists to implant the modified embryos into a woman.

But the field is attracting controversy over concerns it is opening the door to designer - or GM - babies.

DNA is the blueprint of life - the instructions for building the human body. Gene editing allows the precise manipulation of DNA.