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‘Engineered’ babies? Scientists move a step closer with precise editing of human embryo genes
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The possibility of editing the DNA of human embryos became a matter of serious debate more than a decade ago.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: UNSPLASH
Carl Zimmer
NEW YORK – Scientists at Columbia University have edited the DNA of early human embryos with unprecedented accuracy, an achievement that could open the way to babies engineered with particular characteristics.
The prospect has fuelled controversy for years. On the one hand, the technology might one day enable parents to safely repair disease-causing mutations in embryos.
