Consider the following statements: 1. Genetic changes can be introduced in the cells that produce eggs or sperms of a prospective parent. 2. A person’s genome can be edited before birth at the early embryonic stage. 3. Human induced pluripotent stem cells can be injected into the embryo of a pig. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

QUESTION

Medium

Science & Technology

Prelims 2020

Consider the following statements:

Genetic changes can be introduced in the cells that produce eggs or sperms of a prospective parent.
A person’s genome can be edited before birth at the early embryonic stage.
Human induced pluripotent stem cells can be injected into the embryo of a pig.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Select an option to attempt

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct: Germline gene editing involves making genetic changes in the cells that produce eggs or sperms (germ cells). These changes are heritable and can be passed on to future generations. Techniques like CRISPR-Cas9 have made this scientifically possible.

Statement 2 is correct: Genome editing can be performed on early-stage embryos (zygotes or blastocysts) before they are implanted in the uterus. This allows for the correction of genetic mutations that cause hereditary diseases at the earliest stages of development.

Statement 3 is correct: Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are adult cells reprogrammed to an embryonic-like state. Research has successfully demonstrated the injection of these human cells into pig embryos to create 'chimeras'. This technology is used to study organ development and explores the potential of growing human organs for transplantation in the future.

Therefore, all three statements are correct.

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