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The Girl With Three Biological Parents

Alana Saarinen is one of only 30 to 50 people in the world who have DNA from three different people. (Screenshot via BBC)
Alana Saarinen is one of only 30 to 50 people in the world who have DNA from three different people. (Screenshot via BBC)

The United Kingdom could become the first country in the world to allow a scientific procedure that lets children be born with the DNA of three people.

Politicians there are holding their first debate on it today, and will vote on whether to legalize the technique in the coming months.

Scientists claim the procedure will eliminate debilitating genetic diseases, but it would also mean changing their human genetic code forever.

As the BBC’s science correspondent Rebecca Morelle reports, a handful of people have already been born this way.


Note: This BBC interview can be heard in the Here & Now podcast or with the WBUR app.

Reporter

  • Rebecca Morelle, global science correspondent for BBC News. She tweets @rebeccamorelle.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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