Latest news with #mitochondrialdiseases
CNN
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Three-person IVF might prevent rare genetic diseases
Three-person IVF might prevent rare genetic diseases British scientists successfully used a pioneering IVF technique combining DNA from three people to prevent mothers from passing on rare mitochondrial diseases. CNN's Jacqueline Howard explains how this method works. 01:36 - Source: CNN Vertical Trending Now 16 videos Three-person IVF might prevent rare genetic diseases British scientists successfully used a pioneering IVF technique combining DNA from three people to prevent mothers from passing on rare mitochondrial diseases. CNN's Jacqueline Howard explains how this method works. 01:36 - Source: CNN Lightning bolt strikes near delivery man Video shows a lightning strike nearly hitting a delivery man in Wayne, New Jersey, as storms took place across the Mid-Atlantic. 00:36 - Source: CNN Hikers confront man allegedly setting a tree on fire in LA Video shows a tense moment where hikers confronted a man for allegedly starting a fire near Runyon Canyon Park in Los Angeles on Sunday and prevented him from leaving the scene. Andrew Ocalliham was arrested and charged with one count of arson of forest land, court records show. 01:23 - Source: CNN Walt Disney comes to life on stage Seven years in the making, Walt Disney himself comes to life in a new, groundbreaking attraction at Disneyland. As an animatronic, the founder moves and speaks to the audience, all with a special twinkle in his eye. 01:39 - Source: CNN Prince Harry recreates his mother's historic landmine walk Following in his mother's footsteps, Prince Harry visited Angola's minefields just as Princess Diana did 28 years ago. The Duke of Sussex was in Angola with The Halo Trust as part of the group's efforts to clear landmines. 00:39 - Source: CNN Joaquin Phoenix apologizes for awkward Letterman appearance On Tuesday's episode of 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,' actor Joaquin Phoenix talked about his awkward interview with David Letterman in 2009, in which he appeared in-character as himself from his mockumentary, 'I'm Still Here.' 01:08 - Source: CNN 'Love Island USA' star Amaya on standing up for herself "Love Island USA" season 7 winner Amaya Espinal, or "Amaya Papaya", joined Alex Cooper's "Call Her Daddy" podcast after returning from Fiji to discuss her rise in popularity for being a "sensitive gangster" and her relationship with her fellow islanders. 01:25 - Source: CNN The Obamas address divorce rumors on Michelle's podcast Former President Barack Obama joined his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, on her latest podcast episode with her brother Craig Robinson to address divorce rumors. In recent months, speculation about their marriage has run rampant after several public appearances where Michelle Obama did not join her husband, including at President Donald Trump's inauguration in January. 01:52 - Source: CNN Massive fire destroys Tomorrowland's main stage Tomorrowland's main stage went up in flames just days ahead of the festival's opening in Boom, Belgium. 00:38 - Source: CNN Why Turkish gulets are the way to sail the Aegean Traditionally used as fishing vessels, the flat-bottomed, wooden hulled gulets have become the ultimate coastal leisure craft. Offering a perfect blend of traditional charm and modern comfort, they are ideal for exploring the stunning coastline and hidden coves of the Aegean, making them a firm favorite for leisurely 'blue cruises.' 01:29 - Source: CNN Robot soccer kicks off China's humanoid sports boom Less Messi, more messy – regardless, China is investing heavily in robot sports as a way of testing how much one can achieve. 01:30 - Source: CNN Unreleased Beyoncé music stolen from choreographer's rental car in Atlanta Two laptops and hard drives containing watermarked and unreleased music by Beyoncé were stolen from her choreographer's rental car in Atlanta, according to police. 00:55 - Source: CNN Pandemonium in Japan's 'Panda Town' Pandas, and those who adore them, have been central to the culture and economy in Shirahama, Japan for years. But the four pandas at the town's local zoo really belong to China, and China wants them back, leaving town residents in emotional turmoil. 01:18 - Source: CNN Canadian kindness breaks the internet A viral ad campaign from the Eastern Townships Tourism Association has a message for American travelers hoping to come to Canada. 01:16 - Source: CNN Tijuana sets record for largest margarita Tijuana, Mexico, sets a new Guinness World Record for the largest margarita at a massive 34,419 liters. This record-breaking event was part of Tijuana's 136th-anniversary celebrations. 01:02 - Source: CNN
Al Jazeera
6 days ago
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Babies born in UK using DNA from three people to avoid genetic disease
Eight healthy babies have been born in the United Kingdom using a groundbreaking new IVF technique involving DNA from three people, offering hope to families with mitochondrial diseases, according to a world-first trial. Experts at Britain's Newcastle University and Monash University in Australia published the results of the much-awaited trial on Wednesday in several papers in the New England Journal of Medicine. These genetic diseases, which affect one in 5,000 births and have no cure, can cause severe symptoms like vision loss and muscle wasting. The new procedure, approved in the UK in 2015, uses DNA from the mother's egg, the father's sperm and a small amount of healthy mitochondrial DNA from a donor's egg. This has led to the controversial but widely used term 'three-parent babies', though only about 0.1% of the baby's DNA comes from the donor. Out of 22 women who underwent the treatment at the Newcastle Fertility Centre in northeast England, eight babies were born. The four boys and four girls now range from less than six months to more than two years old. For six of the babies, the amount of mutated mitochondrial DNA was reduced by 95-100%, and for the other two, it was reduced by 77-88%, which is below the disease-causing threshold. The children are currently healthy, although their long-term health will continue to be monitored. Despite this success, the procedure remains controversial and is not approved in many countries, including the United States and France. Opponents cite ethical concerns, including the destruction of human embryos and fears of creating 'designer babies'. However, experts argue that for families facing devastating mitochondrial diseases, the benefits of this procedure are clear and life-changing.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Eight healthy babies born after IVF using DNA from three people
Doctors in the UK have announced the birth of eight healthy babies after performing a groundbreaking procedure that creates IVF embryos with DNA from three people to prevent the children from inheriting incurable genetic disorders. The mothers were all high risk for passing on life-threatening diseases to their babies due to mutations in their mitochondria, the tiny structures that sit inside cells and provide the power they need to function. News of the births and the children's health has been long-anticipated by doctors around the world after the UK changed the law to allow the procedure in 2015. The fertility regulator granted the first licence in 2017 to a fertility clinic at Newcastle University where doctors pioneered the technique. The four boys and four girls, including one set of identical twins, were born to seven women and have no signs of the mitochondrial diseases they were at risk of inheriting. One further pregnancy is ongoing. Prof Doug Turnbull, who was part of the team that spent more than two decades developing the procedure, said the healthy births were reassuring for researchers and the families affected. 'You are inevitably thinking it's great for the patients and that is a relief,' he said. Prof Mary Herbert, another senior member of the team, said to have eight healthy babies from the procedure was 'rewarding for all of us'. The vast majority of a human's 20,000 genes are curled up in the nucleus of nearly every cell in the body. But the fluid surrounding the nucleus contains hundreds to thousands of mitochondria that carry their own set of 37 genes. Mutations in these genes can impair or completely disable mitochondria with catastrophic effects. People inherit all their mitochondria from their biological mother. Mutations in the tiny battery-like structures can affect all the children a woman has. The first symptoms of mitochondrial disease tend to appear in early childhood as energy-hungry organs such as the brain, heart and muscles start to fail. Many affected children have developmental delays, require wheelchairs and die young. About one in 5,000 newborns are affected. Mitochondrial donation treatment, or MDT, aims to prevent children from inheriting mutated mitochondria. The procedure involves fertilising the mother's egg with the father's sperm and then transferring the genetic material from the nucleus into a fertilised healthy donor egg that has had its own nucleus removed. This creates a fertilised egg with a full set of chromosomes from the parents, but healthy mitochondria from the donor. The egg is then implanted into the womb to establish a pregnancy. The first eight babies born to the procedure are described in two papers in the New England Journal of Medicine. All eight were healthy at birth. One child developed a urinary infection that was treated, and another developed muscle jerks that resolved on their own. A third child developed high blood fat and a disturbance in their heart rhythm, which was also treated. The condition is thought to be related to a medical issue the mother had in pregnancy. Genetic tests showed that the babies had no or low levels of mutant mitochondria, with some carried over from the mother during the procedure. While the levels are considered too low to cause disease, it suggests the procedure could still be improved. 'All the children are well and they're continuing to meet their developmental milestones,' said Bobby McFarland, director of the NHS Highly Specialised Service for Rare Mitochondrial Disorders at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Five of the children are less than a year old, two are aged between one and two, and the other child is older. The mother of one of the girls said: 'As parents, all we ever wanted was to give our child a healthy start in life. After years of uncertainty this treatment gave us hope – and then it gave us our baby … we're overwhelmed with gratitude. Science gave us a chance.' Some women who carry the genetic disorders produce eggs with varying levels of faulty mitochondria. For them, a technique called pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT) can be used to select eggs for IVF that have a very low chance of passing on a disease. Other women do not have this choice because all their eggs have high levels of mutations. The Newcastle team said 8 of 22 (36%) of women became pregnant after MDT and 16 of 39 (41%) of women became pregnant after PGT. It is unclear why the rates differed, but some mitochondrial mutations may have knock-on effects on fertility. Writing in an accompanying editorial, Robin Lovell-Badge, a principal group leader at the Francis Crick Institute in London, said the long road to this point had 'no doubt been frustrating to women at risk of having children with mtDNA disease', but praised the scientists' cautious approach.
