British MPs have voted against the use of early human embryo cells for research into the development of new disease treatments. Introduced by Dr Evan Harris, the Liberal Democrat science spokesman, the private member's bill was defeated last Tuesday by 175 votes to 83. Private member's bills, which rarely result...
A group of Italian scientists has found that extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) can affect the development of mouse ovary tissue grown in the laboratory. Dr Sandra Cecconi, head of the team, said that it was now important to undertake research to see whether ELF-EMFs - produced by household appliances...
Clonaid, the company run by a Canada-based religious cult called the Raelian Movement, will this week begin its attempts to clone a human being. According to a report in the Sunday Times newspaper, the project to clone a 10-month-old baby will be carried out in a secret laboratory somewhere...
Scientists in China and Denmark have formed a consortium to sequence the entire pig genome, reports last week's Science. The partners hope the project - the first of its kind to tackle livestock - will benefit pig-breeding industries in both countries. The information would also help xenotransplantation researchers - the potential use of...
Ten villages in southern Italy are to become part of a 'genetic park', a DNA collection project that will allow scientists to search for genes involved in Alzheimer's disease, asthma, cancer and heart disease. Researchers chose the area of Cilento, south of Naples, because its inhabitants have been relatively isolated...
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Embryo stem cell politics
by Juliet Tizzard
Last week in the UK Parliament, 175 members of the House of Commons voted against a bill, tabled by Evan Harris MP, supporting human embryonic stem cell research. Whilst these MPs do not constitute a majority of the full House of Commons (there are a total of 659 MPs), they...