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One monkey, two genetic mothers? Researchers produced live monkeys containing DNA from two females and one male. The technique could eventually help humans with certain genetic diseases produce healthy children, the scientists said. The study was published online Wednesday in Nature.

If scientists can adapt the technique to work in humans, it could help women who want to have children and who have a class of inherited ailments known as mitochondrial diseases, which mothers pass on to their offspring.

The technique is based on the fact that the genes that determine our particular characteristics stay in the nucleus of the cell. The mitochondria exist outside of the nucleus and have their own DNA. So if you start with an egg cell from a healthy woman, then swap in the nuclear DNA from a woman with a mitochondrial disease, you can produce a child with the genetic characteristics of one mother and the mitochondria DNA of another.

As the the Washington Post notes, the technique raises some ethical issues. For instance, if after the DNA has been transferred and the egg fertilized, and something goes wrong, the embryos — which some see as the start of life — might have to be discarded. And with three genetic parents, there might be issues of visitation rights if the woman with the healthy DNA is later found to be infertile.

The biggest concern is that the technique alters the genetic makeup of the baby that might be created, as well as that individual’s genes down the line, known as the “germline.”

“We realize this is not just a simple form of gene therapy. This type of gene therapy involves replacing genes in the germline which of course will be transmitted to next generations, which is a concern,” Shoukhrat Mitalipov of the Oregon Health & Science University, who led the work, told the Post. “However, we’re talking about patients and birth defects that cause terrible diseases due to these gene mutations. So the only way to prevent these birth defects is to replace these genes.”

Continued here: 
Meet a Monkey With Two Mothers