Germline

Germline (n.) the genetic material contained in a cellular lineage which can be passed to the next generation. Also: secret military program to develop genetically engineered super-soldiers (slang). War is Oscar Wendell's ticket to greatness. A reporter for The Stars and Stripes, he has the only one way pass to the front lines of a brutal war over natural resources buried underneath the icy, mineral rich mountains of Kazakhstan. But war is nothing like he expected. Heavily armored soldiers battle genetically engineered troops hundreds of meters below the surface. The genetics-the germline soldiers-are the key to winning this war, but some inventions can't be un-done. Some technologies can't be put back in the box. Kaz will change everything, not least Oscar himself. Hooked on a dangerous cocktail of adrenaline and drugs, Oscar doesn't find the war, the war finds him.

A hundred years from now, Russia and the USA are at odds again. This time, the cold war has gone hot. Heavily armored soldiers battle genetically engineered troops hundreds of meters below the icy, mineral rich mountains of Kazakhstan. War is Oscar Wendell's ticket to greatness. A reporter for the Stars and Stripes, he has the only one way ticket to the front lines. The front smells of blood and fire and death - it smells like a Pulitzer. But Kaz changes people and the chaos of war feels a bit too much like home. Hooked on a dangerous cocktail of drugs and adrenaline, Oscar starts down a dark road that he won't be able to turn back from.

Eggs of all animals contain mRNAs and proteins that are supplied to or deposited in the egg as it develops during oogenesis. These maternal gene products regulate all aspects of oocyte development, and an embryo fully relies on these maternal gene products for all aspects of its early development, including fertilization, transitions between meiotic and mitotic cell cycles, and activation of its own genome. Given the diverse processes required to produce a developmentally competent egg and embryo, it is not surprising that maternal gene products are not only essential for normal embryonic development but also for fertility. This review provides an overview of fundamental aspects of oocyte and early embryonic development and the interference and genetic approaches that have provided access to maternally regulated aspects of vertebrate development. Some of the pathways and molecules highlighted in this review, in particular, Bmps, Wnts, small GTPases, cytoskeletal components, and cell cycle regulators, are well known and are essential regulators of multiple aspects of animal development, including oogenesis, early embryogenesis, organogenesis, and reproductive fitness of the adult animal. Specific examples of developmental processes under maternal control and the essential proteins will be explored in each chapter, and where known conserved aspects or divergent roles for these maternal regulators of early vertebrate development will be discussed throughout this review. Table of Contents: Introduction / Oogenesis: From Germline Stem Cells to Germline Cysts / Oocyte Polarity and the Embryonic Axes: The Balbiani Body, an Ancient Oocyte Asymmetry / Preparing Developmentally Competent Eggs / Egg Activation / Blocking Polyspermy / Cleavage/ Mitosis: Going Multicellular / Maternal-Zygotic Transition / Reprogramming: Epigenetic Modifications and Zygotic Genome Activation / Dorsal-Ventral Axis Formation before Zygotic Genome Activation in Zebrafish and Frogs / Maternal TGF-β and the Dorsal-Ventral Embryonic Axis / Maternal Control After Zygotic Genome Activation / Compensation by Stable Maternal Proteins / Maternal Contributions to Germline Establishment or Maintenance / Perspective / Acknowledgments / References

Heritable human genome editing - making changes to the genetic material of eggs, sperm, or any cells that lead to their development, including the cells of early embryos, and establishing a pregnancy - raises not only scientific and medical considerations but also a host of ethical, moral, and societal issues. Human embryos whose genomes have been edited should not be used to create a pregnancy until it is established that precise genomic changes can be made reliably and without introducing undesired changes - criteria that have not yet been met, says Heritable Human Genome Editing. From an international commission of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the U.K.'s Royal Society, the report considers potential benefits, harms, and uncertainties associated with genome editing technologies and defines a translational pathway from rigorous preclinical research to initial clinical uses, should a country decide to permit such uses. The report specifies stringent preclinical and clinical requirements for establishing safety and efficacy, and for undertaking long-term monitoring of outcomes. Extensive national and international dialogue is needed before any country decides whether to permit clinical use of this technology, according to the report, which identifies essential elements of national and international scientific governance and oversight.

This book explores the many prospects, challenges and ethical questions that surround the engineering of our reproductive cells. It is an accessible, three-part examination, moving from focused, realistic assessments of the promise and problems for this advancing technology to a section of short essays on the implications of our technological ability. Also included is a panel discussion in which leading scientists, ethicists, and public policy workers give voice to their thoughts and concerns regarding our impending genetic technologies. Many world leaders in these fields, including Leroy Hood, French Anderson, Mario Capecchi, Daniel Koshland, Michael Rose, Lee Silver, and James Watson, have contributed to this volume, providing the essential elements of the debate over germline engineering. If you have ever pondered the question: "Would I be willing to genetically alter my own child-to-be, given a safe, reliable technology, offering a tempting possibility?", this book will be an indispensable guide.

A survey of the regulation of human germline genome modification in eighteen countries and the emerging international standards.

In gene therapy, the damaged or defective chromosomes of an individual patient are corrected by the addition of new genes introduced into the patient's DNA. This is a dangerous and controversial technique, on the cutting edge of medical science. "GermLine" gene therapy is even more radical. By altering the reproductive cells, the germ cells, of a single individual, you can forever change the genetic makeup of that person--and all of his or her future descendants! But who should control such an awesome power? The government? The medical establishment? Or a hidden conspiracy of the rich and powerful? Dr. Kevin Kincaid, a brilliant scientist whose life has been scarred by personal tragedy, is on the verge of a major breakthrough. After years of research and experimentation, he has developed a biological vector capable of introducing new genes into the germ cells of unborn children while they are still in their mothers' wombs. With this vector, doctors will be able to eradicate genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis and Down syndrome for all generations to come. But Kincaid's discovery also raises the specter of wholesale genetic engineering, of changing the very nature of humanity itself, which attracts the attention of dangerous forces, including a ruthless government agency, an international conspiracy of wealthy industrialists, and radical terrorists who will stop at nothing, including murder, to keep Kincaid's breakthrough from transforming the world as we know it. Soon the targeted scientist finds himself at the center of a covert war to control the future of human evolution. Betrayed and deceived by those closest to him, he can trust no one-not even a mysterious woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to his long-dead wife. . . . At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.