In 2016, in a Mexican hospital, Dr. John Zhang and his team delivered a baby boy who had three genetic parents. The boy was conceived via in vitro fertilization (IVF) and a novel method called spindle nuclear transfer. Spindle nuclear transfer involves transferring the mixed DNA from the mother and father to a new donor egg from a third person. In this case, the boy’s mother had a rare neurological disorder called Leigh syndrome caused by a defect in her mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). As I mentioned last week, mtDNA is passed directly from the mother through the mitochondria in her…
Comments closed