For the first time, British researchers have applied for permission to change the DNA of human embryos for better understanding of why women have miscarriages, amid a broader debate over whether the testing is appropriate or not.

Researchers from the Francis Crick Institute have asked for permission to use the technique in Great Britain, where presently it is illegal except for research purposes. Previously in 2015, Chinese scientists became the first in the world to modify human embryos.

According to The Guardian, the researchers' motive is to better understand the key genes that are part of the first stages of fertilization. They are hoping to eventually determine the reason some women miscarry.

Once the research completes, the embryos, donated by couples who have a surplus after IVF treatment, would be destroyed. Researchers can't study them legally for longer than two weeks.

There are some researchers, including a few in the medical field, said that there are too many unresolved legal and ethical issues with gene editing. They have called for stopping the research on human embryos until a decision is taken regarding those issues.

In fact, supporters of the technique have also agreed that the technique is so new and still not certain that is safe, including to potential future generations.

In a statement, Michael Werner, executive director of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, said it was their position that conducting such a kind of research on human embryos was highly premature.

Werner added, "We've called for a voluntary worldwide moratorium on genome editing of human germline in order to give the scientific community opportunity to come together for a robust legal and policy discussion regarding science, safety and ethics this research represents".