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Ethics Panel Endorses Mitochondrial Therapy, But Says Start With Male Embryos (sciencemag.org)
sciencehabit writes: An experimental assisted reproduction technique that could allow some families to avoid having children with certain types of heritable disease should be allowed to go forward in the United States, provided it proceeds slowly and cautiously. That is the conclusion of a report released today from a panel organized by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS), which assesses the ethics questions surrounding the controversial technique called mitochondrial DNA replacement therapy. More controversially, however, the panel recommended that only altered male embryos should be used to attempt a pregnancy, to limit the possible risks to future generations. (Males can't pass along the mitochondrial DNA that is altered in the procedure.)
This is old news.
I want my laser eyes
Why is it controversial, exactly?
Are critics worried about the X-Men? Or are they mad because of religious rigmarole?
And what about any possible interactions of modified mitochondria with the DNA/RNA of the parent cell?
IANAG ( I Am Not A Genius/Genetecist/Gendarme ), but there is a profusion of interactions between all cell components.
And are these understood well enough to be SURE of fixing things, on a permanent basis?
Males can't pass along the mitochondrial DNA that is altered in the procedure
Well, they can, it's just that sperm mitochondria usually get swamped out by egg mitochondria.
Ask me about repetitive DNA
Name the first one Kahn. Easy enough.
Every time we are sure about some improvement or another by way of genetically modifying a species, either through DNA manipulation or good old fashioned breeding, or introducing a new species to control a pest we find out some years later that we were completely wrong in our assumptions and that we created a bigger problem.
To use the old Jurassic Park quote: "but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should."
The controversy is about making sure that we really contemplate and account for every possibility BEFORE we create a generation of really fucked up people.
I think I've seen Jurassic Park enough times that I've accounted for every contingency when genetically modifying/reproducing dinosaurs though. We should totally go ahead with that.
They want to do their eugenics biological experimentation on men only. It's a feminazi plot. Tuskegee all over again.
You are welcome on my lawn.
depends on perspective, it could be considered anti male performing genetic experiments on only males.
SMASH THE MATRIARCHY 8-).
It is obvious that the female run government is just trying to replace us men with better genetic specimens.
If these women weren't so shallow this would never be happening.
Since TFS didn't explain what "mitochondria" are, I had to look them up myself and found a documentary about them. One scientist explains them as:
Mitochondria are a microscopic lifeforms that reside within all living cells. And we are symbions with them. Without the mitochondrians life could not exist and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to us telling us the will of the Force.
I hope this helps.
As is common knowledge, only male racers participate in the Boonta Eve Classic.
I would just like to say the summary seemed good to me; like most /. posters I did NOT read the article.
Tim S.
Mitochondrial DNA (actually more like mRNA) only passes to children from the mother's DNA contribution. So if a male has it altered, they can't pass it on to kids.
That said, it's not quite as straightforward as you might think. Chromosomal abnormalities could, theoretically, allow the sequences to pass from fathers, but most or all of the maternal mitochondrial sequences would have to not transcribe and some bizarre stuff would have to happen.
If you were going to Mars, the exposure to radiation, or some Fantastic Four coronal event might do this, but it's fairly safe to do this on males only, as a biological precaution.
A long time ago we absorbed these buggers to power our cells, and misfires are one reason to force mitochondrial replacement periodically (what is often referred to a calorie restricted diet, or fasting 10-24 days with water and minerals and broth), as damaged mitochondria build up inside your cells.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkWeMvrNiOM
If the eggs of a human female are all produced before the female is even born, won't they already contain all the original mitochondria they will ever contain, and further altering of mitochondria elsewhere in the woman's body will do absolutely nothing to the "future generations?" I don't remember any process by which mitochondria are passed through the cell membrane.
Unless TFA already addressed that. Not like I actually read it.