designer baby

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New Patent Opens Can of Worms on 'Designer Babies'

Geneticists worry 23andMe trying to 'breed better people'

(Newser) - A pretty controversial new patent its taking the idea of a designer baby to a whole new level. A trait selection process from 23andMe , based on parent and donor DNA, could, in theory, be used to boost the chances of a particular sex, as well as hair or eye color,...

Scientists Breed Mice From Stem Cell Alternative

Researchers turn adult, not embryonic, skin cells into stem cells

(Newser) - Scientists in China have created mice using stem cells made from modified skin cells—hinting at an alternative to embryonic stem cells, the Washington Post reports. Separate teams used viruses to manipulate genes that caused mice skin cells to regress back into induced pluripotent stem cells—which, within a placenta...

Amid Outcry, Doc Backs Off Designer Babies

Clinic will only screen embryos for disease, genetic disorders

(Newser) - After backlash from doctors, ethicists, and the public, a fertility clinic that had promised parents the option to choose certain traits for their new babies has changed its claim slightly. “We’re going to limit it to people with genetic diseases because we just cannot keep up with what’...

Embryos Screened for Cancer Risk
Embryos Screened for Cancer Risk

Embryos Screened for Cancer Risk

Targeting breast cancer gene raises fears of "designer babies"

(Newser) - The British government is poised to OK a procedure that screens embryos for genes that greatly increase the risk—but do not necessarily cause—breast cancer. Two couples with strong family histories of the disease are expected to pioneer the technique, already approved in principle, and crank up the debate...

4 Stories