Altering genes for future generations
UPn 24.09.97 03:34
Copyright 1997 United Press International. All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or
redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written
consent of United Press International.
By ELIZABETH MANNING
UPI Science News
WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- A panel of scientists tomorrow will
begin two days of debate on the technical and ethical issues
about making changes to human genes that can be passed on to
future generations.
Such research, called germ-line intervention, targets the genes
in reproductive cells -- the eggs and sperm that combine their
DNA to conceive a new human. The technique offers the promise of
permanently correcting the genes causing inherited diseases such
as cystic fibrosis that otherwise are passed from one generation
to the next.
On the other side of the coin, says co-organizer Mark Frankel in
Washington, germ-line intervention could also make controversial
genetic enhancements possible. If these techniques are perfected,
parents could someday "customize" their children to
make them smarter, more athletic, have red hair, or a host of
other traits -- and could, in turn, pass those genes on to their
own children.
Frankel, who heads one of two programs within the American
Association for the Advancement of Science that is sponsoring the
public forum, says "this is working with populations of
people yet unborn. So it's important to engage in discussions
before the headlines occur."
Germ-line intervention is still in its infancy. A major reason is
that the federal government's ban on use of federal funds for
human-gene tampering implicitly includes gene intervention.
The ban does not affect gene therapy, which tries to correct
faulty genes in an individual after he or she is diagnosed with
an inherited disease. But the ban on federal spending does apply
to attempts to manipulate genes in a person's reproductive cells
that could then be inherited by their children.
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Copyright 1997 by United Press International.
All rights reserved.
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