A scientist in Sweden has started trying to edit the DNA in healthy human embryos, NPR has learned.
The step by the developmental biologist Fredrik Lanner makes him the first researcher known to attempt to modify the genes of healthy human embryos. That has long been considered taboo because of safety and ethical concerns.
Lanner is attempting to edit genes in human embryos to learn more about how the genes regulate early embryonic development. He hopes the work could lead to new ways to treat infertility and prevent miscarriages. He also hopes to help scientists learn more about embryonic stem cells so they can someday use them to treat many diseases.
The fear is that Lanner's work could open the door to others attempting to use genetically modified embryos to make babies.
Making changes to the DNA in human embryos could accidentally introduce an error into the human gene pool, inadvertently creating a new disease that would be passed down for generations, critics say.
A Review of Eggonomics: The Global Market in Human Eggs and the Donors Who Supply Them by Diane M. Tober
A recent journalistic investigation of the global egg trade at Bloomberg put the industry’s unregulated practices and their exploitative implications back in the spotlight. Diane Tober’s book Eggonomics: The Global Market in Human Eggs and the Donors Who Supply Them, published in October of last year, delves even more deeply into the industry with a thorough examination of egg...
Elon Musk may not have appeared at the Natal Conference in Austin, Texas, this year, but he didn’t have to. The very concept of pronatalism owes its current prominence to him and his obsession with fertility...
By Staff [cites CGS' Katie Hasson], Radio New Zealand | 04.05.2025
Aggregated News
At a time where some countries are struggling with low birth rates, the voices for pronatalism are getting louder. But it’s who’s sounding the call for more babies that has people talking.
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