Aggregated News
The technique, known as karyomapping, has the potential to spot virtually any inherited genetic disease.
It can also pick up chromosomal problems that might lead to Down’s syndrome or prevent pregnancy.
Scientific trials are set to begin on the groundbreaking technique, which has been developed by British researchers and which they believe could eventually even eradicate some inherited conditions like Huntington’s Disease.
But the move will spark fears that the technology is moving towards creating “designer babies”, because it could theoretically be used to screen out non-serious conditions or help couples have babies with “designer” traits such as blue eyes.
However, its use would be heavily regulated in Britain and is likely to be limited to extremely serious inherited diseases.
The £2,500 procedure removes the need for geneticists to spend months developing a test for a specific gene mutation, a technique called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD).
Last year the first child in Britain was born free from a breast cancer gene which raises the lifetime chance of developing the disease to 80 per cent, after doctors used PGD.
But only...
It can also pick up chromosomal problems that might lead to Down’s syndrome or prevent pregnancy.
Scientific trials are set to begin on the groundbreaking technique, which has been developed by British researchers and which they believe could eventually even eradicate some inherited conditions like Huntington’s Disease.
But the move will spark fears that the technology is moving towards creating “designer babies”, because it could theoretically be used to screen out non-serious conditions or help couples have babies with “designer” traits such as blue eyes.
However, its use would be heavily regulated in Britain and is likely to be limited to extremely serious inherited diseases.
The £2,500 procedure removes the need for geneticists to spend months developing a test for a specific gene mutation, a technique called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD).
Last year the first child in Britain was born free from a breast cancer gene which raises the lifetime chance of developing the disease to 80 per cent, after doctors used PGD.
But only...