Swedish researchers edit healthy human embryos

Scientists in Sweden have become the first to edit the genetic material in healthy human embryos.

Fredrik Lanner is attempting to edit genes in human embryos to learn more about how the genes regulate early embryonic development. He hopes the work could lead to new ways to treat infertility and prevent miscarriages. He also hopes to help scientists learn more about embryonic stem cells so they can someday use them to treat many diseases.

The fear is that Lanner’s work could open the door to others attempting to use genetically modified embryos to make babies.

Lanner is initially planning only to study the modified embryos for the first seven days of their growth and would never let them develop past 14 days. The potential benefits could be enormous, he argues.

Fredrik Lanner (right) of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and his student Alvaro Plaza Reyes examine a magnified image of an human embryo that they used to attempt to create genetically modified healthy human embryos.
Rob Stein/NPR

SOURCES- Live Science, NPR