Despite the government's recent announcement of a delay in making a decision on whether to allow human embryo research using cloning techniques, it appears that some research may be legally possible in the UK. So-called therapeutic cloning attempts to marry developments in embryo stem cell research with cloning technology, in...
Science organisations in Germany have launched a new initiative modelled on the UK's attempts to increase public awareness of science - in particular the work of the Committee on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS). The presidents of all the major German science organisations recently signed an agreement to support dialogue...
Fertility doctors are claiming that a new method of treating women over the age of 37 could give them a much improved chance of having healthy children through in vitro fertilisation. The success rate of IVF drops in women as they reach their mid-30s - as the quality of their...
Women are being offered free sterilisation by a Harley Street clinic if they agree to donate their eggs to infertile women, raising concerns that women will donate genetic material in order to jump National Health Service (NHS) waiting lists. The Centre for Reproductive Medicine (CRM) will advertise in local newspapers...
Genetic studies at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research have shown that some boys will be infertile as adults because they have inherited a genetic defect from their fathers through a commonly used method of assisted reproduction known as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). It is known that many forms of...
Analysis of fertility treatment services in Europe carried out by Dr Francoise Shenfield of University College Hospital and Medical School in London shows that British patients get the worst deal in Europe. The survey of five European countries showed that those on the National Health Service wait longer for treatment...
Comment
Remixing reproduction and genetics
by Professor Marcus Pembrey
The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) held their annual meeting in Tours last week. The European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) held theirs in Geneva at the end of May. However, these two clinical and academic disciplines - until now rather separate - are becoming increasingly integrated. In the...