Some UK women with a family history of hereditary breast cancer are waiting up to two years for the results of genetic tests, a new survey by CancerBACUP reveals. The charity found that in two of the 19 regional genetics centres that responded to the survey, women face a nine...
New research shows that a person's health could be affected by the diet and lifestyle of their grandfathers during childhood. The studies, carried out at the University of Bristol in the UK and Umea University in Sweden, suggest that some environmental factors can affect the genetic information passed on to...
A recent Serono Symposium International Foundation conference in Athens has revealed considerable international differences in both the provision and practice of assisted reproduction and also considered the need for improved data collection. Arne Sunde, one of the founders of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) and Chairman...
The US government has announced that it will provide initial funds of $100 million for the 'Cancer Genome Atlas', a project that aims to catalogue the hundreds of different genetic errors that can turn a normal cell into a cancerous one. Launched by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) last...
US scientists have created mice with human brain cells, by injecting human embryonic stem (ES) cells into the brains of fetal mice growing in the womb. The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), offers proof that human ES cells can become working brain cells...
The computer of Korean embryonic stem (ES) cell research scientist Woo Suk Hwang has been seized by the university he used to work for as part of an investigation into the veracity of his work, after allegations were made about falsified data in his pioneering research. The celebrated paper, published...
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill (HR2520) by 413 votes to zero that would authorise $79 million of federal funds for the collection and storage of umbilical cord blood. The new Cord Blood Stem Cell Act 2005 was previously passed by the Senate and now goes to...
Comment
Infertility treatment provision in Scotland
by Sheena Young
A service framework for the care of infertile couples in Scotland was published by the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland (EAGISS) in February 2000. Since then, implementation has taken place to varying degrees, and five years on we still have some Health Boards who have yet to...