Should Embryos Be Edited?

Scientist Kathy Niakan wants to be the first in the UK to genetically modify human embryos.

21:32 14 January 2016

Dr Kathy Niakan has been making her case to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to allow her to genetically modify human embryos. If successful, she will become the first in the UK to perform such procedure. She said that it will provide a deeper understanding of the earliest moments of human life and could reduce the number of miscarriages.

 

Dr Niakan has spent a decade researching human development and aims to understand the process where a human transforms from a single fertilized egg.

Dr Niakan, from the Francis Crick Institute, said: "We would really like to understand the genes needed for a human embryo to develop successfully into a healthy baby.

"The reason why it is so important is because miscarriages and infertility are extremely common, but they're not very well understood."

 

"We believe that this research could really lead to improvements in infertility treatment and ultimately provide us with a deeper understanding of the earliest stages of human life."

 

She added: "The only way we can understand human biology at this early stage is by further studying human embryos directly.”