“Right now I am talking to you from bed, wrapped up in blankets
because I can’t regulate my body temperature,” says Stefani
Bush, a Chelmsford, Mass., mother. Bush, 35, has a gene
mutation, one in a galaxy of mutations that causes often
devastating conditions known collectively as mitochondrial
diseases. She has been hospitalized about 16 times this year.
She can’t walk more than about 20 yards and has a host of
cardiovascular and gastrointestinal symptoms. A study published
Wednesday in the journal Nature might offer a way to prevent
children from inheriting such conditions in the future.
Scientists in Oregon have found a way to remove the damaged
genetic material and replace it with healthy DNA. The catch is
it’s controversial, and children born using the technique would,
technically, have three genetic parents. It’s just the kind of
ethical debate that stopped such science dead in its tracks a
decade ago. Bush wasn’t aware she carried her mutation until she
was pregnant with her daughter, now 7. Her son, 9