Genetic Diseases May Be Fixed Pre-Conception in Eggs, Study Says
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Scientists have shown it may be possible to correct certain inherited diseases before conception using a technique that replaces unhealthy DNA in one human egg with disease-free genetic material from another.
The finding, reported today in the journal Nature, is the first to suggest gene therapy can be done before an egg is fertilized, sidestepping some ethical issues. The researchers, at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, did their work using donated human eggs.