The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee will hold its first evidence session this week in a new inquiry into the Government's proposals for the regulation of the creation of animal/human hybrid and chimera embryos for research purposes. The MPs will hear from scientists...
A proposal to lift the existing ban on using human embryonic stem cells for research is currently under way in Norway. The government's proposed bill would allow the use of embryos left over from fertility treatments for research purposes, subject to the consent of donors and the...
Scientists at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have created new heart muscle with its own blood supply using human embryonic stem cells. The team published its research online in the journal of Circulation Research. Despite progress over the past two decades in treating cardiac disease, there are...
The proposed Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act 2007 is poised for fast-track consideration through the US Congress. It was reintroduced into the US House of Representatives earlier this month (HR 493), with its prospects for successful passage into law appearing better than similar past attempts. The Act aims...
By Katy Sinclair: After a four-year battle, an Israeli court has ruled in favour of a family campaigning for the right to use their dead son's sperm in order to inseminate a women that he never knew. Soldier Keivan Cohen was shot dead in Gaza in 2002. His mother, Rachel...
New research has been published confirming that 'multipotent' adult progenitor cells' (MAPCs), a type of adult stem cell, can repair and restore damaged blood systems in mice. Catherine Verfaillie and colleagues at the University of Minnesota first described these novel stem cells in 2002, but other teams...
As the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act 2007, passed in the House by 253 votes to 174 earlier this month, makes its way towards the Senate, leading US stem cell researchers - including a high level National Institutes of Health (NIH) official - have voiced their opposition against President...
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Pharmacogenetics in assisted reproduction: optimising response to ovarian stimulation
by Dr Alan Thornhill
Pharmacogenetics is not new. One of our authors famously can drink a bottle of wine with little effect. The other falls asleep after just one glass. Indeed, the speed at which alcohol is broken down in the body is partly genetically determined. This principle applies to most, if not all...