A team of researchers from the National Institute for Agronomical Research in France has announced that they have successfully cloned rabbits from adult cells for the first time. The cloning process was the same as that used to create Dolly the sheep. However, previous attempts to clone rabbits have been...
US scientists have discovered how to make hens lay eggs that contain proteins for use as drugs for humans. Reporting in the April issue of the journal Nature Biotechnology, the scientists, from the company AviGenics, said they inserted a new gene into the DNA of American white leghorn chicken embryos...
Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US have announced that they have successfully made human embryonic stem cells form themselves into fully-functioning blood vessels. The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that the cells could be used to repair damaged...
A panel from Japan's ministry of Science, Education and Technology has approved the country's first stem cell research project using human embryos. Previous stem cell research in Japan has only been allowed to take place on imported embryo stem cell lines. The application was made by a research team from...
The Italian Parliament was presented with a bill on assisted reproduction last week. Some of the provisions of the bill are thought to be likely to 'provoke one of Italy's biggest political battles this season'. The bill recognises 'the right to birth of the conceived' and specifies that 'production of...
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Easter bunnies arrive unnoticed
by Dr Jess Buxton
Five years ago it was completely unheard of, now it seems not a month goes by without a team of scientists reporting yet another cloning success. This week's BioNews reports on the world's first cloned rabbits, unveiled just before Easter. They join sheep, cattle, goats, mice, pigs and cats in...