Subscribe now

A WOMAN has become pregnant through a procedure that combines a controversial IVF method with one of the techniques used for cloning. But the fetuses that resulted, although they did not survive to term, were certainly not clones. In fact, they had three genetic parents.

The procedure involves transferring a fertilised nucleus from the mother’s egg to an egg from another women (see Graphic). Any child born this way would inherit the vast majority of its genes from its mother and father, like a normal baby, but the handful of genes found outside the nucleus, in the cell structures…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up

To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers

Popular articles

Trending New Scientist articles

Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop