Germinal choice technology

Germinal choice technology refers to a set of reprogenetic technologies that, currently or that are expected to in the future, allow parents to influence the genetic constitutions of their children. This could be done through genetic screening of blastocysts (early embryos), or through germline engineering, which refers to human genetic engineering used to alter genes in the first cells of the blastocyst.[1] Germline engineering changes the genes in a sperm or an egg, which impacts all future DNA of every cell in the embryo.

Screening technologies have been in use since at least the mid 1990s to reduce the incidence of genetic disorders, and what can be tested for were expected to become increasingly sophisticated in the early 2010s.[2] Maturation in these fields would increase the range and sophistication of decisions open to parents. Germline engineering and even the engineering of human artificial chromosomes (which presently allow increased reliability) are presently being done in animals.[3][4] Chinese scientists reported in 2015 that they had modified the genomes of non-viable human embryos.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Wagner, Cynthia G. (2002). "Germinal Choice Technology: Our Evolutionary Future. An Interview with Gregory Stock". Retrieved 2006-02-21.
  2. ↑ (2015) Genetic laboratories and clinics World health Organization, Genomic resource centre, Retrieved 26 April 2015
  3. ↑ Sasaki, E.; Suemizu, H.; Shimada, A.; Hanazawa, K.; Oiwa, R.; Kamioka, M.; Tomioka, I.; Sotomaru, Y.; Hirakawa, R.; Eto, T.; Shiozawa, S.; Maeda, T.; Ito, M.; Ito, R.; Kito, C.; Yagihashi, C.; Kawai, K.; Miyoshi, H.; Tanioka, Y.; Tamaoki, N.; Habu, S.; Okano, H.; Nomura, T. (2009). "Generation of transgenic non-human primates with germline transmission". Nature 459 (7246): 523–527. Bibcode:2009Natur.459..523S. doi:10.1038/nature08090. PMID 19478777.
  4. ↑ Reddy, P.; Ocampo, A.; Suzuki, K.; Luo, J.; Bacman, S. R.; Williams, S. L.; Sugawara, A.; Okamura, D.; Tsunekawa, Y.; Wu, J.; Lam, D.; Xiong, X.; Montserrat, N.; Esteban, C. R.; Liu, G. H.; Sancho-Martinez, I.; Manau, D.; Civico, S.; Cardellach, F.; Del Mar o’Callaghan, M.; Campistol, J.; Zhao, H.; Campistol, J. M.; Moraes, C. T.; Izpisua Belmonte, J. C. (2015). "Selective Elimination of Mitochondrial Mutations in the Germline by Genome Editing". Cell 161 (3): 459. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2015.03.051.
  5. ↑ Cyranoski, D.; Reardon, S. (2015). "Chinese scientists genetically modify human embryos". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2015.17378.

See also