Scientists in China have used a next-generation form of CRISPR genome-editing to repair a disease-causing mutation in human embryos, the first use of the technique in viable embryos that were created by a standard fertility clinic technique.
The study is a notable advance over previous attempts to edit human embryos and brings closer the day when genome editing might be used to alter the DNA of early-stage IVF embryos in such a way that the changes would be inherited by subsequent generations, potentially wiping out diseases caused by single genetic mutations.
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