Mutations in mitochondrial DNA can cause severe diseases and fertility problems. Since mitochondria are only inherited from the mother, a mother with faulty mitochondrial DNA will pass this on to her children without exception. Techniques involving the use of a donor egg with healthy mitochondria were developed to avoid this. However, the fact that the resulting embryo contains genetic material from three different individuals raised many ethical questions. Also, the science behind mitochondrial transfer hasn’t been fully elucidated. Nonetheless, a scientific group from New York went ahead and applied the techniques, and last April, a three-parent baby was born.
Houston (Texas, USA) has been home to Jeroen Pollet since August 2011. He arrived as a Fulbright scholar; now he is an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), and also the director of the Formulation Development Unit at the Sabin Vaccine Institute & Texas Children`s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. In these roles, he develops new vaccines against neglected tropical diseases and studies the interactions of vaccine antigens with immunostimulatory agents in relation to immune responses and vaccine efficacy.
Mutations in mitochondrial DNA can cause severe diseases and fertility problems. Since mitochondria are only inherited from the mother, a mother with faulty mitochondrial DNA will pass this on to her children without exception. Techniques involving the use of a donor egg with healthy mitochondria were developed to avoid this. However, the fact that the resulting embryo contains genetic material from three different individuals raised many ethical questions. Also, the science behind mitochondrial transfer hasn’t been fully elucidated. Nonetheless, a scientific group from New York went ahead and applied the techniques, and last April, a three-parent baby was born.
Houston (Texas, USA) has been home to Jeroen Pollet since August 2011. He arrived as a Fulbright scholar; now he is an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), and also the director of the Formulation Development Unit at the Sabin Vaccine Institute & Texas Children`s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. In these roles, he develops new vaccines against neglected tropical diseases and studies the interactions of vaccine antigens with immunostimulatory agents in relation to immune responses and vaccine efficacy.