A new treatment for a form of male infertility caused by varicose veins in the scrotum has been reported. Results of a study reported at the 24th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology, in Orlando USA, show that the condition, which is apparently the cause...
Research using cloned human embryos should be allowed for the development of tissue and cell therapies, the Australian Academy of Science (AAS) declared in a statement released last week. The AAS statement says that because of recent breakthroughs in the isolation of embryonic stem cells and the development of cloning...
Thirteen year old Melissa Stern, better known as Baby M during the bitter legal wrangle that followed her birth to a surrogate mother, is the subject of this feature article. The Baby M case was the first time a judge was asked to rule on a failed surrogacy arrangement...
The announcement made two weeks ago by leaders of the Human Genome Project was followed up last week by the Daily Telegraph. Scientists in research institutes in the US and UK announced on 15 March that the Human Genome Project will be finished ahead of schedule, a working draft being...
An American study has suggested a link between herbal remedies and subfertility. The research, published in the US journal, Fertility and Sterility, examined four popular herbs for their effects on the sperm's ability to penetrate the egg and on the genetic constitution of sperm. Researchers at Loma Linda University studied...
Germany's tight laws on human embryo research should remain in place for the time being, according to a policy statement issued two weeks ago by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), an agency that funds basic research in Germany. Since breakthroughs in areas such as human embryonic stem cell research which could...
A woman who, four years ago, became Britain's oldest mother of an IVF baby, has given birth to her second child just two months before her 56th birthday. Pauline Lyons caused controversy when it became clear she had lied about her age in order to gain access to fertility treatment...
The on-going debate surrounding the Icelandic gene database project is thoroughly explored in the Sunday Times. Explaining the significant ramifications of a genetically isolated community such as Iceland for research into the causes of genetically inherited diseases, the article covers the setting up of Iceland's first biotechnology firm, Decode Genetics...
A first working draft of the human genome could be ready by next spring, 18 months ahead of schedule. This is the second time in six months that leaders of the Human Genome Project have brought the deadline forward. The project's leaders attributed the earlier than expected completion date to...
On the theme of science and responsibility: An article in the Guardian by Professor Steven Rose - extracted from a Royal Society Debate to mark Science Week - discusses the limitations of evolutionary psychology and its damaging implications for individual agency and responsibility. The Independent published an extract from Rose's paper given...
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