Scientists have won the right to genetically modify human embryos for the first time in the UK.
A licence to edit genes in research has been approved by national regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).
However, scientists will not be allowed to implant any embryos used in research into women.
The HFEA said in a statement: "Our Licence Committee has approved an application from Dr Kathy Niakan of the Francis Crick Institute to renew her laboratory's research licence to include gene editing of embryos.
"The committee has added a condition to the licence that no research using gene editing may take place until the research has received research ethics approval.
"As with all embryos used in research, it is illegal to transfer them to a woman for treatment."
Gene editing in human embryos is less controversial for research purposes, than the possibility of editing embryos that subsequently develop into foetuses and are born.
Some scientists are worried about unforeseen consequences later in life of children with edited genomes, and even the (far-fetched) possibility of 'designer' babies.
They have called for a ban on editing embryos for clinical purposes until much more is known.
Earlier this month, Dr Niakan said permission to alter the DNA of human embryos using gene editing technology was necessary to take her work further.
She told Sky News: "It will teach us critical information about these genes in early human development.
"It could lead into insights into some causes of miscarriage and provide us with information about developments in infertility treatment."
In the long term, she has said the research could mean the embryo with the greatest chance of developing could be implanted or genetics could be "tweaked" to maximise an embryo's chance of survival.
Her research relies on a technology called CRISPR-Cas9, which allows scientists to edit genes very precisely and very cheaply.
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