World's first 'three-parent' baby born

The world's first baby created using a controversial "three-parent" technique has been born in Mexico.

The procedure, which was carried out last year but only made public yesterday, combined the DNA of three separate people in one baby. It is hoped the technique will allow women with genetic disorders to have healthy children who are still related to them.

While many doctors have hailed the announcement, "some have raised concerns that the doctors left the US to perform the operation beyond the reach of any regulatory framework and without publishing details of the treatment", says The Guardian.

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Speaking to the New Scientist, lead doctor John Zang, of the New Hope Fertility Clinic in New York, said that in order to do the ethical thing and "save lives", the team had travelled to Mexico, where "there are no rules".

Others have been more vocal, saying the procedure is "tantamount to the genetic modification of humans or even playing god", says The Independent.

The UK parliament last year voted to allow the creation of three-parent babies in principle, but regulators must still decide whether the technique is safe before such a birth could be allowed in Britain.