Scientific research bodies in the UK are calling for an urgent debate on the ethical implications of genetically modifying human embryos to cure diseases and create “designer babies.”

Britain’s leading research funders have declared their support for research into a controversial new tool called genome editing in the hope it will prevent serious diseases such as cancer or HIV.

However, they recognize that such technology has profound implications on humanity and have issued a plea for a wide-ranging ethical debate on the potential pros and cons of such research.

The statement is signed by the Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Council, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Association of Medical Research Charities and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

Genome editing allows sections of DNA to be precisely removed or replaced using “molecular scissors,” also known as the CRISPR-Cas9 system…..

The Trust foresees initial experiments will involve removing non-productive cells from a patient and editing them in a lab to correct a harmful mutation before putting them back in the body.

Under UK law, the genetic modification of embryos for clinical uses is only permitted in research laboratories under license from the fertility regulator, the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA).

One of the conditions of this research is that modified embryos must be destroyed after 14 days.
In a statement, Britain’s leading medical research bodies said they supported research into genome editing and any therapies that may come from this.

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