A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 22
Okay, just happened to see this one yesterday: The first three-parent babies could soon be born:
The technology is now in place for three different parents to contribute DNA to an embryo — two of them providing the 98% of DNA in the cell nucleus, while another provides the crucial 2% that is mitochondrial DNA.
Why does this matter? Mitochondrial DNA is passed on exclusively by the mother, but some women carry mutations in their mitochondria that can cause severe health problems for their children. Researchers are hoping to create donor eggs that possess mutation-free mitochondrial DNA, leaving the nucleus to be fertilized by the other two parents.
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So then, feel free to add the terms “nuclear mother” and “mitochondrial mother” to your social science fiction toolkit, but then we might have to start really using those terms in a few years anyway.
The Kids Are All Right found an audience with two lesbian mothers and the surrogate father suddenly on the scene. Can you say ‘similar but different’?
This could go comedy. Drama. Thriller. Even horror.
Which way would you take it?