Image by Matthew Daniels via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts human cells, showing the stages of cell division.
BioNews
Genome editing
Making deliberate alterations to the DNA sequence at targeted locations in the genome. This can include deleting, inserting or replacing sections of DNA. Several approaches are used to achieve these changes, include zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), TALENs, CRISPR/Cas and base editing.
347 articles
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
UK report reveals public attitudes to fertility, genomics and embryo research
Discrepancies between public opinion and real-world access to fertility services in the UK have been highlighted by a fertility and genomics survey commissioned by the Progress Education Trust...
Image by Matthew Daniels via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts human cells, showing the stages of cell division.
Podcast Review: Genetics Unzipped – Have a heart, the science of xenotransplantation
A recent episode of Genetics Unzipped 'Have a heart: the science of xenotransplantation' talked about the process of transplanting organs from animals into human bodies...
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
Thirty years of PET: our 'Fertility, Genomics and Embryo Research' report
PET turns 30 this year, but our story goes back further than that – at least as far back as the birth of Louise Brown in 1978, the world's first IVF baby...
Image by Matthew Daniels via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts human cells, showing the stages of cell division.
Podcast Review: How Far Could Genome Editing Go?
The BBC's CrowdScience podcast calls on listeners to ask the scientific questions they've always wanted answered, from medicine, to the Earth and beyond. In the latest episode of the series, host Caroline Steel delves into the world of genome editing, from success stories in the clinic, to the pragmatic ethical concerns...
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
An adaptive act: How should human fertilisation and embryology legislation respond to scientific and technological change?
How responsive is the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act to the pace of social and technological change? In this comment, Julian Hitchcock contemplates revision of the Act, and how might we optimise its responsiveness to clinical need while upholding standards...
Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
Fertility Frontiers: What Is a 'Permitted' Embryo in Law?
The question of what is a 'permitted embryo' under the legislation governing assisted reproduction in the UK has received increasing scrutiny as technological progress challenges the concept of embryohood...
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
Process for developing organoid models of the cervix published
Details of how to develop three-dimensional organoid models of the cervix have been published...
Mitochondria role in prostate cancer growth discovered
A mitochondrial gene has been identified as a potential therapeutic target for prostate cancers that have spread to other parts of the body and evade current treatment strategies...
Pig virus found in recipient of transplanted pig heart
The man who received the first-in-human pig heart transplant died two months later, and a pig virus may have been a contributing factor...