A stem cell scientist from London's Francis Crick Institute, Kathy Niakan, has been authorized to genetically modify human embryos in an experiment. This experiment will be similar to one that a group of Chinese scientists carried out a few months ago, which triggered a worldwide debate.

British health and fertility regulators approved Niakan's application to modify the human genetic code. Niakan will be using a new method for the modification of the human gene and several people feel that it might break many ethical restrictions. Niakan is planning to use gene editing to analyze the growth of an embryo in its first week.

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Chinese scientists made a surprising first attempt at genetically modifying embryos last year. Unfortunately, their experiment was not successful. However, it opened great possibilities for future generations to alter and repair genes.

A gene-function researcher at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, Huang Junjiun, and his colleagues, have shared how they modified the genes of embryos taken from a fertility clinic using the CRISPR-Cas9 technique.

According to the scientists, this technique could potentially be used for treatment of HIV and muscle dystrophy as well as other inherited medical conditions. This could also be a breakthrough for future cure or prevention of diseases that people thought are incurable.

The National Institute of Health in the US does not financially support this kind of research, although private funding is possible. Regulations and guidelines of research on embryos differ from one country to another.

Niakan's research would enhance human understanding of in-vitro fertilization success rates through checking the earliest stage of human development. But critics believe that altering the genetic code through this method may eventually result in an appalling outcome.

TagsGene, embryos, Chinese Scientists Modifying Human Embryos Create Ethical Issues