Scientists are working on a technology that would eliminate genetic disease in newborns by combining the DNA of three people instead of two in a single embryo.
However, the announcement of the study raised the alarm that the scientists would open the door for people to create “designer babies” with special features such as eye color, hair color or skin.
Food and Drug Administration officials are meeting over the next two days with the scientists in the project to see if they will allow testing on humans. The process is currently only approved to be used on monkeys.
“Once you make this change, if a female arises from the process and goes on to have children, that change is passed on, so it’s forever,” Phil Yeske, chief science officer of the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, told Bloomberg. “That’s uncharted territory; we just don’t know what it means. Permanent change of the human germline has never been done before, and we don’t know what will happen in future generations.”
Four monkeys have been created using the process and have been healthy through their first three years.
A Texas woman has been arrested on suspicion of capital murder after police claimed she killed her baby and stuffed into a duffel bag that was found at a trash recycling plant.
Nidia Alvarado, 25, was taken into custody on Tuesday night at her home.
A police spokesman said that Alvarado gave birth to the baby boy and then strangled it to death before throwing him away. The baby was discovered on an intake belt at a Waste Management facility in San Antonio.
The woman reportedly gave a false name at the hospital where she gave birth. Poilce investigators did not tell the media how they were able to track down Alvarado but credited “tips from the public” for helping the investigation.
Police said that other children at Alvarado’s home were taken into custody by child protective services.
Pope Francis delivered his harshest words yet regarding abortion.
The Pope has been very conspicuous in trying to steer the church away from subjects that have caused controversy such as abortion and gay marriage. However, in a speech Monday, the Pope made clear his opposition to the killing of babies.
The Pope said abortion was evidence of a “throwaway culture” that has dominated many parts of the world. He also said the evil of abortion was a serious threat to the world.
“Unfortunately, what is thrown away is not only food and dispensable objects,” the Pope said, “But often human beings themselves who are discarded as unnecessary.”
In addition to condemning abortion, the Pope spoke boldly against those who would use children as soldiers, those who commit human trafficking and any kind of slavery that is a “crime against humanity.”
The comments came as the Pope blessed 32 babies in the Sistine Chapel.
The Pope also announced that his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, given to the pontiff for the brand’s 110th anniversary, would be auctioned in Paris next month with the funds going to feed the poor.
A day of sorrow turned to belated joy for a Colombian couple who thought they had lost their premature daughter during childbirth.
The baby was born in the state of Choco last week and declared dead by doctors just after birth. They sent the baby directly to the hospital’s morgue without a further examination.
Hours later, the baby’s father came to collect the body to be taken to a funeral home. When the morgue attendant retrieved the box, he discovered the baby moving and making soft crying sounds.
A medic rushed the baby to a special hospital in Bogota to receive treatment for her underdeveloped lungs and she is reported to be in good condition.
Her parents have announced they will be naming her Miracle.
