Image copyright New Hope Fertility Centre Image caption Dr John Zhang holding the baby boy who was conceived thanks to the new technique that incorporates DNA from three people

The world's first baby has been born using a new "three person" fertility technique, New Scientist reveals.

The five-month-old boy has the usual DNA from his mum and dad, plus a tiny bit of genetic code from a donor.

US doctors took the unprecedented step to ensure the baby boy would be free of a genetic condition that his Jordanian mother carries in her genes.

Experts say the move heralds a new era in medicine and could help other families with rare genetic conditions.

But they warn that rigorous checks of this new and controversial technology, called mitochondrial donation, are needed.

It's not the first time scientists have created babies that have DNA from three people - that breakthrough began in the late 1990s - but it is an entirely new and significant method.

Three person babies

Mitochondria are tiny structures inside nearly every cell of the body that convert food into usable energy.

Some women carry genetic defects in mitochondria and they can pass these on to their children.

In the case of the Jordanian family, it was a disorder called Leigh Syndrome that would have proved fatal to any baby conceived. The family had already experienced the heartache of four miscarriages as well as the death of two children - one at eight months and the other at six years of age.

Leigh syndrome

A severe neurological disorder, affecting at least one in 40,000 new-born babies.

Usually becomes apparent during the first year of a child's life.

First signs include vomiting, diarrhoea and difficulty with swallowing.

Causes the progressive loss of movement, and deterioration of mental functions.

Symptoms are linked to the development of patches of damaged tissue which develop in the brain.

Children with the condition usually die within two to three years, usually because of respiratory failure.

Mutations in 75 different genes have been linked to the condition.

Most of those mutations occur in DNA from the nucleus, but in about one in five cases the culprit is found in mitochondrial DNA.

Scientists have devised a number of fertility methods to help such families.

The US team, who travelled to Mexico to carry out the procedure because there are no laws there that prohibit it, used a method that takes all the vital DNA from the mother's egg plus healthy mitochondria from a donor egg to create a healthy new egg that can be fertilised with the father's sperm.

The result is a baby with 0.1% of their DNA from the donor (mitochondrial DNA) and all the genetic code for things like hair and eye colour from the mother and father.

Dr John Zhang, medical director at the New Hope Fertility Centre in New York City, and his colleagues used the method to make five embryos - only one of them developed normally.

Image caption 1) Eggs from a mother with damaged mitochondria and a donor with healthy mitochondria are collected 2) The majority of the genetic material is removed from both eggs 3) The mother's genetic material is inserted into the donor egg, which can be fertilised by sperm.

The UK has already passed laws to allow the creation of babies from three people.

But the science does raise ethical questions, including how any child from the technique might feel about having DNA from three people.

Fertility experts say it is important to push ahead, but cautiously.

Some have questioned whether we are only now hearing the success story while failed attempts could have gone unreported.

Prof Alison Murdoch, part of the team at Newcastle University that has been at the forefront of three person IVF work in the UK, said: "The translation of mitochondrial donation to a clinical procedure is not a race but a goal to be achieved with caution to ensure both safety and reproducibility."

Critics say the work is irresponsible.

Dr David King from the pro-choice group Human Genetics Alert, said: "It is outrageous that they simply ignored the cautious approach of US regulators and went to Mexico, because they think they know better. Since when is a simplistic "to save lives is the ethical thing to do" a balanced medical ethics approach, especially when no lives were being saved?"

Dr Zhang and his team say they will answer these questions when they presents their findings at a meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in October.

Prof Darren Griffin, an expert in Genetics at the University of Kent, said: "This study heralds a new era in preimplantation genetics and represents a novel means for the treatment of families at risk of transmitting genetic disease.

"With radical new treatments like this there are always challenging ethical issues, however any concerns need to be balanced against the ramifications of not implementing such a technology when families are in need of it."

The structure of a cell

Nucleus: Where the majority of our DNA is held - this determines how we look and our personality

Mitochondria: Often described as the cell's factories, these create the energy to make the cell function

Cytoplasm: The jelly like substance that contains the nucleus and mitochondria

Follow Michelle on Twitter</s>The birth of a baby using a new ‘three-parent baby’ technique in Mexico could speed the creation of a similar child in the UK New Hope Fertility Centre

THE world's first child created using a controversial "three-parent" baby technique has been born in Mexico, it has been announced.

Limited details about the birth were revealed ahead of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine's scientific congress in Salt Lake City next month, where it will be discussed more fully.

According to critics, the procedure is tantamount to genetic modification of humans or even "playing God". But supporters say it allows women with a particular type of genetic disease to have healthy children who are related to them.

A report in the New Scientist magazine said the baby was now five months told. His parents are Jordanians and the work was carried out by a team of experts from the US.

The child's mother has Leigh syndrome, a fatal disorder that affects the developing nervous system and would have been passed on in her mitochondrial DNA.

Although she is healthy, two of her children have died as a result of inheriting the disease: a girl who lived until she was six and an eight-month-old baby.

There are different ways of creating a so-called three-parent baby.

The technique used by Dr John Zhang, of the New Hope Fertility Clinic in New York, and his team involved taking the nucleus from one of the mother's eggs - containing her DNA - and implanting it into a donor egg that had its nucleus removed but retained the donor's healthy mitochondrial DNA.

Unlike ordinary DNA, which has the genetic information that helps make us who we are, mitochondrial DNA provides power for the cell and has been compared to a battery. Many scientists in the field insist the term "three-parent baby" is inaccurate for this reason as the significant DNA is still from two people.

Dr Zhang told the New Scientist that, as the technique has not been approved in the US, the team went to Mexico where "there are no rules".

"To save lives is the ethical thing to do," he added.

In 2003, Dr Zhang and his team revealed they had used a different technique to create three-parent babies, sparking international outrage.

The British Parliament voted to allow the creation of 'three-parent babies' in principle but regulators must still decide whether the specific technique is safe before such a birth could happen in Britain.

Other scientists working in the field welcomed the news.

Professor Bert Smeets, director of the Genome Centre at Maastricht University, said: "At last, the first child of a mother with a mtDNA mutation is born after mitochondrial donation.

"The safety of the method had already been quite convincingly demonstrated by the Newcastle group in the UK and introduction into the clinic would only be a matter of time - obviously, dependent on national regulation or the absence of it.

"A US-based research group apparently escaped the more rigid regulatory framework in the US to perform this treatment in Mexico. That is a concern, especially as the framework not only safeguards the introduction into the clinic, but also the follow-up of the children born after this treatment.

"Hopefully, now the first child is born and the heat is off, it takes away the pressure to involve patients in unsecured treatments, when good alternatives are available."

And Dr Dusko Ilic, a reader in stem cell science at King's College London, said: "Without much ado it appears the first mitochondrial donation baby was born three months ago.

"This was an ice-breaker. The baby is reportedly healthy. Hopefully, this will tame the more zealous critics, accelerate the field, and we will witness soon a birth of the first mitochondrial donation baby in the UK."

However, he added that "some questions remain".

"By performing the treatment in Mexico, the team were not subject to the same stringent regulation as some other countries would insist on," Dr Ilic said.

"We have no way of knowing how skilful or prepared they were, and this may have been a risky thing to do.

"On the other hand, we have what appears to be a healthy baby. Because it was successful, fewer questions will be raised but it is important that we still ask them."

Professor Alison Murdoch, head of the Newcastle Fertility Centre at Life, Newcastle University, who has been at the forefront of research in this area in the UK, also welcomed the announcement.

"If this baby has been born as suggested then that would be great news. The translation of mitochondrial donation to a clinical procedure is not a race but a goal to be achieved with caution to ensure both safety and reproducibility," she said.</s>The world’s first baby to be born from a new procedure that combines the DNA of three people appears to be healthy, according to doctors in the US who oversaw the treatment.

The baby was born on 6 April after his Jordanian parents travelled to Mexico where they were cared for by US fertility specialists.



Doctors led by John Zhang at the New Hope Fertility Center in New York decided to attempt the controversial technique in the hope that it would give the couple a healthy child.



While many experts welcomed news of the birth, some raised concerns that the doctors had left the US to perform the procedure beyond the reach of any regulatory framework and without publishing details of the treatment.



Speaking to the New Scientist, Zhang said he went to Mexico where “there are no rules” and insisted that doing so was right. “To save lives is the ethical thing to do,” he said.



The procedure, known as mitochondrial transfer, was legalised in the UK in 2015 but so far no other country has introduced laws to permit the technique. The treatment is aimed at parents who have a high risk of passing on debilitating and even fatal genetic diseases to their children.



The boy’s mother carries genes for a fatal disorder called Leigh syndrome, which harms the developing nervous system. The faults affect the DNA in mitochondria, the tiny battery like structures that provide cells with energy, and are passed down from mother to child.



Ten years after the couple married, the wife became pregnant but she lost the baby in the first of four miscarriages. The couple had a baby girl in 2005 who died aged six and later, a second child who lived for only eight months. Tests on the wife showed that while she is healthy, about one-quarter of her mitochondria carry the genes for Leigh syndrome.



When the couple approached Zhang for help, he decided to try the mitochondrial transfer procedure. He took the nucleus from one of Ibtisam’s eggs and inserted it into a healthy donor’s egg that had had its own nucleus removed. He then fertilised the egg with the husband’s sperm.



The US team created five embryos but only one developed normally. This was implanted into the mother and the baby was born nine months later.



The baby is not the first child to be born with DNA from three people. In the 1990s, fertility doctors tried to boost the quality of women’s eggs by injecting cytoplasm, the cellular material that contains mitochondria, from healthy donor eggs. The procedure led to several babies being born with DNA from the parents plus the healthy donor. Some of the children developed genetic disorders and the procedure was banned.

Speaking about the latest case, Dusko Ilic, a stem cell scientist at King’s College London, said: “Without much ado, it appears the first mitochondrial donation baby was born three months ago. This was an ice-breaker. The baby is reportedly healthy. Hopefully, this will tame the more zealous critics, accelerate the field, and we will witness soon the birth of the first mitochondrial donation baby in the UK.”

But some questions remain, he said. “By performing the treatment in Mexico, the team were not subject to the same stringent regulation as some other countries would insist on. We have no way of knowing how skilful or prepared they were, and this may have been a risky thing to do.

“On the other hand, we have what appears to be a healthy baby. Because it was successful, fewer questions will be raised, but it is important that we still ask them.



“Was this the first time ever they performed the technique or were there other attempts and they are reporting this one because it was successful?

“This and other important questions remain unanswered because this work has not been published and the rest of the scientific community has been unable to examine it in detail. It’s vital that that happens soon.”



Alison Murdoch, a fertility doctor at Newcastle University, said: “If this baby has been born as suggested then that would be great news. The translation of mitochondrial donation to a clinical procedure is not a race but a goal to be achieved with caution to ensure both safety and reproducibility.”



Details of the birth are due to be presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine meeting in Salt Lake City in October. 



Doug Turnbull, a neurology professor at Newcastle University who pioneered mitochondrial transfer in the UK, said the technique offered hope to mothers who carry mitochondrial DNA mutations.

“There have been extensive discussions in the UK to ensure that families with mitochondrial disease get the best possible advice about their reproductive options and that any new IVF based technique is appropriately regulated and funded. This abstract gives very little information about the technique used, the follow up of the child or the ethical approval process.”
• This article was amended on 27 September 2016 to remove the names of some of the parties involved, which the New Scientist had not been granted permission to use.</s>The world’s first baby using new “three-parent” fertility technique has been born.

The DNA fertility technique was carried out by United States scientists.

This is the first time ever that a baby with DNA from three biological parents has been born.

For further details follow @nigeriantribune – the official Twitter account of Nigerian Tribune Online.</s>Fertility doctors using a technique developed to eliminate inherited disease have helped a woman deliver the first baby with three genetic parents.

The child, who is now five months old, and his mother were treated by a US team in Mexico.

He was conceived from an egg containing nuclear DNA from his mother and father, and mitochondrial DNA from a “second” mother — an unknown female donor.

The aim was to replace defective mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) that may have condemned him to Leigh syndrome, a fatal disorder affecting the developing nervous system.

Mitochondrial DNA is housed in the tiny rod-like “batteries” in cells that supply energy, and is passed down through the generations by mothers.

So far only the UK has given an official stamp of legal approval to the technique employed by the American doctors.

But the US team moved ahead by achieving the first live birth involving mitochondrial replacement.

Dr Dusko Ilic, an expert from King’s College London, told New Scientist magazine, which carries an exclusive report of the birth in its latest issue: “This is great news and a huge deal. It’s revolutionary”.

Inherited mitochondrial diseases include devastating conditions that result in poor growth, muscle weakness, loss of co-ordination, seizures, vision and hearing problems, learning disabilities and organ failure.

It is estimated that one in 4,000 people has an incurable mitochondrial disease.

The boy’s mother carries the Leigh syndrome mutation in about a quarter of her mitochondria. While she has suffered no ill effects, the disease killed her first two children, said New Scientist.

She and her husband sought the help of leading embryologist Dr John Zhang, medical director at the New Hope Fertility Centre in New York city. He used an approach called spindle nuclear transfer, which involves finding an egg from a willing donor and removing its nuclear DNA.

The nucleus from one of the mother’s eggs was then inserted into the donor egg. The result – an egg containing nuclear DNA from the mother and mtDNA from the donor – was fertilised with the father’s sperm. Five embryos were created, only one of which developed normally and was implanted in the mother’s womb.

While the US has not approved the technique, Mexico has “no rules”, Dr Zhang is reported to have said. He told New Scientist: “To save lives is the ethical thing to do.”

Tests of the baby’s mitochondria showed that less than 1 per cent carried the Leigh mutation, which is thought to be far too low to cause any problems. The work was briefly reported in a little-known scientific journal, Fertility and Sterility, in an article entitled “First live birth using human oocytes reconstituted by spindle nuclear transfer for mitochondrial DNA mutation causing Leigh syndrome”.

British experts congratulated the team but called for more information. Professor Doug Turnbull, from the University of Newcastle, said: “There have been extensive discussions in the UK to ensure that families with mitochondrial disease get the best possible advice about their reproductive options and that any new IVF-based technique is appropriately regulated and funded.

“This abstract gives very little information about the technique used, the follow-up of the child or the ethical approval process.”

Dr Ilic added: “This was an ice-breaker. The baby is reportedly healthy; hopefully, this will tame the more zealous critics, accelerate the field, and we will witness soon a birth of the first mitochondrial donation baby in the UK.

“But some questions remain. By performing the treatment in Mexico, the team were not subject to the same stringent regulation as some other countries would insist on. We have no way of knowing how skilful or prepared they were, and this may have been a risky thing to do. On the other hand, we have what appears to be a healthy baby. Because it was successful, fewer questions will be raised but it is important that we still ask them.”

Although Fertility and Sterility released a short summary of the procedure, full details have not yet been reported.

Dr Ilic said: “Was this the first time ever they performed the technique or were there other attempts and they are reporting this one because it was successful? This and other important questions remain unanswered because this work has not been published and the rest of the scientific community has been unable to examine it in detail. It’s vital that that happens soon.”

Professor Simon Fishel, president of the Care Fertility Group of IVF clinics, said: “This is a devastating disease that we do not wish children to be born with, and what’s more, we would wish to eradicate from any family lineage – and this technology will help achieve this.

“However, any first-time medical procedure moving from successful animal studies to the human, that will take several years until we understand its impact, is a necessary experimental step forward, which we hope and believe should be totally safe and utterly effective.

“Congratulations to this team and all those hoping to help these unfortunate families, and we should proceed with caution and due regulation.”

Dr David King, director of the watchdog group Human Genetics Alert, criticised the research.</s>After being born four hours into a flight from Dubai to Manila, baby girl Haven has been gifted 1 million air mile points.

Haven's mom went into labor more than five weeks early while flying on an aircraft operated by Philippines carrier Cebu Pacific on August 14.

Two nurses among the plane's passengers helped with the delivery alongside cabin crew as the pilot diverted to Hyderabad, India to seek further medical assistance.

The budget airline said it's the first time a baby has been born on one of its aircraft. Airline CEO Lance Gokongwei said Haven would be awarded one million points on the airline's GetGo rewards program to celebrate the birth. The points have no expiry date and can be shared with her family. What happens when you're born on an airplane – In 1990, Debbie Owen gave birth on a British Airways flight from Ghana to the UK. She named her daughter Shona Kirsty Yves -- her initials spelling SKY. What happens when you're born on an airplane – Shona Owen's passport declares that the holder was "born on an aeroplane 10 miles south of Mayfield, Sussex." What happens when you're born on an airplane – Her birth papers also reveal the unusual circumstances of her birth. Being born in the air can lead to complications over nationality. What happens when you're born on an airplane – Shona Owen says she was "born to travel" and has researched other people who arrived in the world under similar circumstances. What happens when you're born on an airplane – During her research Owen came into contact with Debs Lowther, who gave birth to her son Jonathan, just four months before Owen was born, on a British Airways flight from Malawi. What happens when you're born on an airplane – Like Shona Owen, Debs Lowther's baby was born with the help of a doctor on board. Most airlines now try to restrict when heavily pregnant women can fly. What happens when you're born on an airplane – Popular myth decrees that people born on planes are often given free air travel for life, but this rarely happens. Shona Owen was presented with tickets to Australia by British Airways on her 18th birthday. What happens when you're born on an airplane – Owen has also appeared in advertising for British Airways. "We are happy that both mother and daughter are doing well, and would like to commend our flight and cabin crew for handling the situation with utmost professionalism and efficiency," he said. "We also express our sincerest gratitude to the two volunteer nurses who helped ensure the baby's safe delivery." Our Team Childbirth is happy that both mom & daughter are doing well! More #BabyHaven info: https://t.co/F7exzSO3qj pic.twitter.com/cukCdoPSpO — Cebu Pacific Air (@CebuPacificAir) August 17, 2016 One fellow passenger described on Facebook how Haven's mom returned to her seat after giving birth during "the most 'NORMAL' flight ever." "We only heard one semi-loud screech, and a few seconds later, there were tinier, cute screeches, and it was when we knew the baby was born," Missy Berberabe Umandal wrote. "Luckily, she only had to push ONCE. Moments later, the woman got up to go back to her seat, baby in arms (mighty strong, I might say)." Haven's arrival, according to Umandal, delayed the flight's arrival at its destination by nearly nine hours. "But no complaints," she added. "Everyone in that plane was blessed."</s>Fertility doctors using a controversial technique developed to eliminate inherited disease have helped a woman deliver the first baby with three genetic parents.

Five-month-old Abrahim Hassan’s Jordanian mother was treated by an American team in Mexico.

He was conceived from an egg containing nuclear DNA from his mother and father, and mitochondrial DNA from a “second mother” – an unknown female donor.

The aim was to replace defective mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) that may have condemned Abrahim to Leigh syndrome, a fatal disorder affecting the developing nervous system.

Mitochondrial DNA is housed in the tiny rod-like “batteries” in cells that supply energy, and is passed down through the generations by mothers.

So far only the UK has given an official stamp of legal approval to the technique employed by the American doctors.

But the US team moved ahead by achieving the first live birth involving mitochondrial replacement.

Dr Dusko Ilic, an expert from King’s College London, told New Scientist magazine, which carries an exclusive report of the birth in its latest issue: “This is great news and a huge deal. It’s revolutionary.”

Inherited mitochondrial diseases include devastating conditions that result in poor growth, muscle weakness, loss of co-ordination, seizures, vision and hearing problems, learning disabilities and organ failure. It is estimated that one in 4,000 people has an incurable mitochondrial disease.</s>The world’s first three-parent baby has been born in Mexico with the help a controversial new fertility technique that incorporates DNA from three people, and is reported to be healthy at five months of age.

The ‘three-parent’ technique allows parents with rare genetic mutations to have healthy babies.

The boy’s mother carries genes for Leigh syndrome, a fatal disorder that affects the brain, muscles and nerves of developing infants. Genes for the disease reside in DNA in the mitochondria, which provide energy for our cells.

The parents of the baby, a Jordanian couple, had been trying to start a family for almost 20 years.

Ten years after they married, the woman became pregnant, but it ended in the first of four miscarriages.

In 2005, the couple gave birth to a baby girl. Their daughter was born with Leigh syndrome, and died aged six.

The couple’s second child had the same disorder, and lived for 8 months, the ‘New Scientist’ reported.

The couple sought out the help of John Zhang and his team at the New Hope Fertility Centre in New York City.

Zhang used an approach called spindle nuclear transfer. He removed the nucleus from one of the mother’s eggs and inserted it into a donor egg that had its own nucleus removed.

The resulting egg - with nuclear DNA from the mother and mitochondrial DNA from a donor - was then fertilised with the father’s sperm.

Zhang’s team used this approach to create five embryos, only one of which developed normally. This embryo was implanted in the mother and the child was born nine months later on April 6, this year.

When researchers tested the boy’s mitochondria, they found that less than one per cent carry the mutation.

This may be too low to cause any problems; generally it is thought to take around 18 per cent of mitochondria to be affected before problems start, researchers said.

The team will describe the findings at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s Scientific Congress in the US in October.</s>NEW YORK — Scientists say the first baby has been born from a new technique that combines DNA from three people.

The goal is to prevent the child from inheriting a serous genetic disease from the mother.

The birth of the baby boy is revealed in a research summary published by the journal Fertility & Sterility. Scientists plan to make a fuller presentation at an October meeting. The magazine New Scientist said the baby was born five months ago to parents from Jordan.

The technique involved removing some of the mother's DNA from an egg, and leaving the disease-causing DNA behind. The healthy DNA was slipped into a donor's egg, which was then fertilized. As a result, the baby inherited DNA from both parents and the egg donor.
Mitochondrial donation allows the first 'three person baby' to be born.