On Monday, the Francis Crick Institute, a biomedical research center in London, said its application to use "genome editing" techniques on human embryos had been approved by the U.K.'s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).

Scientists in the U.K. have gained permission to modify the genetic make-up of human embryos for the first time.

The aim of the research, led by scientist, Kathy Niakan, is to understand the first week of an embryo's development. This knowledge could ultimately be used to provide better treatments for infertility.

"Niakan's proposed research is important for understanding how a healthy human embryo develops and will enhance our understanding of IVF success rates, by looking at the very earliest stage of human development ," Paul Nurse, director of the institute, said on its website.

The research now needs to gain further ethical approval from the Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee in East England and subject to that will begin in the next few months.

The HFEA said that to its knowledge, the U.K. researchers would be the first to use the technique outside of China.

As with all embryos used in research in the U.K., it will be illegal to transfer them into a woman. The embryos will be donated by IVF patients who have given their "informed consent" to the donation of their surplus embryos, the Crick said on its website.