Human Embryos News and Research

RSS

Study shares public views of using gene editing to change unborn baby’s genetic makeup

A majority of Americans support the idea of using gene editing with the goal of delivering direct health benefits for babies.

27 Jul 2018

Most Americans skeptical about gene editing

A new survey from Pew Research Center has found that nearly half of the surveyed Americans believe that in the coming 50 years, nearly all genetic birth defects could be eliminated due to advances in gene editing.

26 Jul 2018

Study reveals how devastating mitochondrial diseases strike families without any previous history

Researchers have shown for the first time how children can inherit a severe - potentially fatal - mitochondrial disease from a healthy mother.

15 Jan 2018

Gene technology can be potential game-changer for agriculture

Consumers will soon be eating gene-edited foods that have added nutrients, potatoes that do not turn brown, and mushrooms with a longer shelf life, scientists at The University of Queensland predict.

10 Nov 2017

Studies shed new light on leading cause of birth defects and miscarriage

Two recent Northwestern University studies shed new light on the mystery of the leading cause of birth defects and miscarriage, laying the foundation for further research in an understudied but crucially important field of genetic study.

3 Oct 2017

“Chemical surgery” on embryos to free them of a gene causing thalassemia

A team of Chinese researchers have for the first time “mended” defective embryos using chemical surgery to free them of a faulty gene that leads to beta thalassemia. Until now this defect was found to be incorrigible caused due to a single misspelling in the DNA code. Beta thalassemia is a dreaded blood disorder wherein the child is unable to make healthy blood needing blood transfusions on a regular basis. The study was published this week in the journal Protein and Cell.

2 Oct 2017

Scientists use genome editing to understand role of a gene key to human embryonic development

Researchers have used a genome-editing technique to elucidate the role of a gene that is key to human embryonic development.

21 Sep 2017

Scientists question CRISPR human embryo editing claims

A paper published in the journal Nature on the 2nd August described how a gene editing tool CRISPR could be used to correct a genetic mutation that leads to a heart condition. This team had performed the genetic editing on the gene sequences in dozens of viable human embryos to attempt to prevent a genetic heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

31 Aug 2017

Study shows new method for repairing disease-causing mutation in human embryos

Scientists have demonstrated an effective way of using a gene-editing tool to correct a disease-causing gene mutation in human embryos and stop it from passing to future generations.

3 Aug 2017

Research shows great potential of embryonic gene editing to prevent inherited diseases

Scientists have, for the first time, corrected a disease-causing mutation in early stage human embryos with gene editing.

2 Aug 2017

Expert highlights CRISPR’s applications, limitations, and ethical concerns

"Good morning, doctor, I am here for my gene editing appointment." In the future, could this be a greeting heard in physician offices around the world? With the introduction of CRISPR technology, genetic material can now be more easily and precisely edited, even creating changes that can subsequently be inherited by offspring.

1 Aug 2017

US scientists make advances in modifying human embryos

American Scientists have managed to edit and improve the DNA of human embryos in an effort to correct the gene defects that cause inherited diseases.

27 Jul 2017

MIT biologists identify how the immune system eliminates genetically imbalanced cells

Most living cells have a defined number of chromosomes: Human cells, for example, have 23 pairs. As cells divide, they can make errors that lead to a gain or loss of chromosomes, which is usually very harmful.

20 Jun 2017

Study suggests human embryos not susceptible to dying early as often claimed

How difficult is it to conceive? According to a widely-held view, fewer than one in three embryos make it to term, but a new study from a researcher at the University of Cambridge suggests that human embryos are not as susceptible to dying in the first weeks after fertilization as often claimed.

13 Jun 2017

Researchers receive federal funding to study consequences of West Nile and Zika virus infections

A Georgia State University researcher, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Florida State University, has received a five-year, $7.7 million federal grant to study the consequences of West Nile and Zika virus infections on the human central nervous system.

2 Jun 2017

CRISPR may not be as foolproof as earlier believed – gene editing tech leads to unwanted mutations

CRISPR-Cas9 is a revolutionary new gene-editing technology that has been called “molecular scissors” and has been one of the handiest tools for genetic engineers in the recent times. It makes cutting and pasting gene sequences almost as easy as it sounds. CRISPR has been hailed as a breakthrough in genetic engineering.

30 May 2017

Study sheds light on how different families relate to each other following open embryo adoption

EXPERTS at the University of Huddersfield are researching the emergence of a new style of family creation that sees couples "adopt" embryos and, after the child is born, remain in contact with the donors and in many cases develop a special relationship with them.

19 May 2017

Researchers create new tool that reveals insights into cellular development

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have created a new tool to describe the many possible ways in which a cell may develop. Rooted in the mathematical field of topology, the tool provides a roadmap that offers detailed insight into how stem cells give rise to specialized cells.

2 May 2017

Harvard scientists discuss promise and peril of emerging IVG technique

In vitro fertilization has transformed reproductive medicine and sparked a number of therapeutic and diagnostic breakthroughs.

12 Jan 2017

Researchers find new insights into silencing of X-chromosomes in human embryos

Researchers have discovered new insights into how one of the two X-chromosomes is silenced during the development of female human embryos and also in lab-grown stem cells.

16 Dec 2016