Scientists have discovered a rare genetic fault that raises a woman's risk of developing ovarian cancer six-fold. It has been hailed as the most important discovery in the field in the last ten years, and offers hope for new treatments...
Educational toys, brainy baby videos and flash cards — do these things help to develop intelligence? Or are the genes that you inherited from your parents the determining factor? The search for an 'intelligence gene' has intrigued scientists for decades. Now, an international team of scientists have added weight to the argument that intelligence does have a genetic basis, but that it comes from multiple genes working together...
Rhythmic activity detected in newly fertilised mouse eggs may provide a novel and non-invasive screening method for identifying embryos most likely to survive a full-term pregnancy, according to research published in Nature Communications...
A US fertility lawyer has pleaded guilty to participating in what prosecutors have called a 'baby-selling ring'...
A simple blood test for pregnant women can accurately predict the sex of a fetus at seven weeks, much earlier than conventional techniques, new research has found. A systematic review and meta-analysis examined the results of 57 earlier studies that included more than 6,500 pregnancies...
Researchers have identified 29 new genetic variants with a link to multiple sclerosis (MS). This brings the total number of genetic changes associated with the disease, which affects around 2.5 million people worldwide, to nearly 50...
An Israeli court has granted permission for a family to extract and freeze eggs from their deceased daughter's ovaries...
There is insufficient evidence to suggest that taking aspirin during IVF increases a woman's chances of conceiving, according to the latest Cochrane Systematic Review...
US researchers have linked mutations in 40 genes to sporadic schizophrenia. The evidence suggests that 50 percent of people with schizophrenia without a family history of the condition have 'de novo' DNA mutations that were not passed on from their parents...
What happens when a research team discovers something that has direct significance to the health of an individual involved in their study? Although the discovery of 'health-related findings' can occur in any study involving human participants, the answer to this question is by no means clear....
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IVF is one of the UK's greatest scientific achievements - so why do patients still struggle to access treatment?
by Susan Seenan
Thirty years after the birth of the first IVF baby, you would expect the country that pioneered the technique to lead the world in providing access to fertility treatment. At the very least, the UK would guarantee fair and equitable access for eligible patients. But you would be wrong. Patients across the country are still fighting to get the treatment they deserve...
Changes to PGD regulation in Victoria, Australia
by Dr Malcolm Smith
The Australian state of Victoria was the first common law jurisdiction in the world to enact legislation to regulate assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs). Victoria's legislative framework has been updated a number of times and the most recent legislation (the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 2008 (Vic)) came into effect on 1 January 2010...