He allowed to create human embryos from two mothers

Structure of human eggs.Mitochondria are outside the nucleus, carrying their own DNA.If this DNA fails, the child will be sick.The new technique will take the nucleus (fertilized) of an egg with faulty mitochondria, drop it into the eggs of other women with healthy mitochondria.Embryos produced will not have faulty mitochondria.A Newcastle University team will transfer embryos - the nucleus of a zygote made from a woman's sperm and eggs - into an unfertilized egg of another woman.

This technique is aimed at preventing the genes of the first mother's mitochondrial disease from being transmitted to the baby (which she does not directly produce).

Mitochondria are small complex structures, located outside the nucleus, that exist in all cells of the body except red blood cells. They are responsible for producing energy for us to live and grow. One unique feature in mitochondria is that they contain their own DNA - also called mitochondrial DNA, which is only passed from mother to child.

If this DNA fails, a mitochondrial disease will occur. At present, science is still stuck with these diseases.

Research in mice has shown that it is possible to prevent mother-to-child mitochondrial disease by separating the nucleus of a fertilized egg with a mitochondria, and dropping it into an unfertilized egg with a healthy mitochondria ( egg of another female).

Professor Doug Turnbull, from Newcastle University and colleagues, will now conduct the technique in humans, to replace defective mitochondria with healthy healthy mitochondria.

"Two mother" embryos are not allowed to develop into babies.Researchers continue to debate them.

Professor John Burn, also from Newcastle University, stressed that the new experiment will not lead to "selective babies"."From a philosophical and medical point of view, there is no reason why we should not do that," he said."I use an image similar to changing a battery for a radio to explain what we are doing. You have not changed the radio completely, but only renewed the power."

" If a baby is born with this technique, it will be more like its biological parent than a woman who has a healthy mitochondrial egg, because features like hair color, height and personality are due to DNA in it. regulation, not mitochondrial DNA ".

However, moralists are still concerned about this project.Meanwhile, American scientists at the Institute of Reproductive and Scientific Medicine in St Barnabas, New Jersey, announced in 2001 that they had successfully implemented the same technique, producing 15 healthy babies, seems to have no problem with their mother's illness.

T. An (by ABConline, LiveScience )