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The Department of Health has asked the fertility regulator to conduct a public consultation into the acceptability of a controversial technique known as 'three-parent IVF'.
The technique, which involves using genetic material from three parents - two women and a man - to create a baby, is currently banned in the UK.
However the procedure could help the estimated 12,000 people who have mitochondrial disease - defects in the structures called mitochondria which surround the cell nucleus.
The inherited disease is passed down the maternal line. About 100 babies are born each year with a severe form of the incurable disease, with many dying in infancy.
The technique involves taking healthy DNA from a mother's egg, either before or after fertilisation - and transferring it into an egg donated by another woman.
This egg is than implanted into the mother to avoid passing on defects in her mitochondria.
Although the child would then have genetic material from its mother, father and the donor, it would not inherit any of the donor's characteristics.
The Daily Mail reports that the procedure has caused an ethical storm, with critics warning that these 'hybrid' children could pose unknown risks for future generations.
Mitochondria are sausage-shaped 'batteries' which float around inside cells converting food into energy that the body can use. Each contains a tiny strand of DNA - around 37 of the 23,000 human genes, which is passed on by the mother.
Mutations in this DNA can cause around 50 serious and untreatable genetic diseases which affect around one in 5,000 children, causing symptoms such as blindness, deafness, heart and kidney problems and early-onset dementia. Many sufferers die before reaching adulthood.
If the mother's damaged mitochondria could be cut out of the fertilisation process, it is hoped that these diseases could be prevented, saving 100 lives a year.
The Independent reports that Public Health Minister Anne Milton said: "Mitochondrial disease... can have a devastating impact on the people who inherit it. Scientists have developed a new procedure to stop these diseases being passed on. But such a procedure would not be allowed... under current laws, so we are consulting the public as to whether we should change the law."
Professor Doug Turnbull, who will be the director of the University of Newcastle's new research centre for mitochondrial disease, said: "If this technology proves to be as safe as IVF and as effective as preliminary studies show, I think we could totally prevent transmission of these diseases."
However, the procedure is not without critics. The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children told The Independent: "These macabre experiments are both destructive and dangerous and therefore unethical. Scientists should abandon the spurious field of destructive embryo experimentation and instead promote the ethical alternative of adult stem-cell research, which is already providing cures and treatments for the same conditions."
The public consultation by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority will start later this year.
Do you support three-parent IVF? Let us know below...
Click on the image below to find out which foods will boost your memory...
- Egg<p> Eggs are rich in choline, which can help fight off the effects of ageing in the brain - researchers recently found that those with <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/11/25/chicken-eggs-and-milk-sharpen-memory_n_1113136.html" target="_blank">high-choline diets performed better in memory tests</a>.</p>
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- Apples (skin-on)<p> An apple a day could help keep your memory loss at bay since apple skin is high in quercetin, which has been found to keep brain cells healthy and help ward off Alzheimer's.</p>
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- Asparagus<p> The green veggie is rich in folate - a diet high in folic acid is associated with better memory recall and an overall higher cognitive performance.</p>
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- Oily fish<p> Here's yet another reason to integrate oily fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel) into your diet - the omega-3 fatty acids are essential for the health of the nervous system and help stave off memory loss. </p>
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- Celery<p> Celery is high in the flavonoid luteolin, which has been found to reduce inflammation in the brain and improve memory in mice. If you're not a fan of the vegetable on its own, try dipping it in hummus or peanut butter, or garnishing your morning tomato juice with it.</p>
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- Tomatoes<p> Add some colour to your salad with tomatoes - research has found that the lycopene in the fruit can help protect against free radical damage (associated with dementia) and can help boost memory.</p>
![Tomatoes]()
- Cinnamon<p> Start sprinkling: By slowing blood sugar absorption, cinnamon helps to prevent cell damage and studies have found it can also improve memory. </p>
![Cinnamon]()
- Cauliflower<p> Cauliflower is high in choline (converted to citicoline in the brain), which studies have found can help improve your brain's frontal lobe function (aiding reasoning and memory). Get the choline you need from other cruciferous veggie sources like broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage.</p>
![Cauliflower]()
- Spinach<p> A study found that three servings of green leafy veg a day can slow the decline of mental performance associated with ageing by up to 40 per cent. Spinach is also high in memory-preserving folic acid.</p>
![Spinach]()
- Berries<p> Studies have found that phytochemicals like anthocyanin and quercetin (found in berries) can not only help improve memory, they can even reverse the effects of memory loss. </p>
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