Radio Review: Frontiers - Epigenetics
This Frontiers programme challenged three genetic dogmas. The presenter quoted a recent Observer headline on epigenetics: 'Why everything we were told about evolution was wrong!'...
BioNews
48 articles
IVF technique is overused, says its inventor
An IVF technique whereby fertilisation is achieved by injecting an individual sperm into an egg cell is being overused and may pass on infertility to the next generation, the scientist who developed the technique has warned...
Research into the epigenetic impact of assisted conception
Readers will have noticed a couple of news reports and Rosalind John's excellent commentary on this topic in the last few weeks, but I make no apology for returning to the subject so soon. I believe this area of research will spark interest from the media for years to come. This is not because I fear research will necessarily uncover some unsuspected risk to the health of people born after IVF (we can't know until we do the research) but because we are ...
Gene's 'parent' link to disease risk
Non-profit Icelandic company deCODE genetics has published an article in Nature reporting that our chance of developing genetic disease can be different depending on whether we inherited the genes from our mother or father....
A link between male infertility and epigenetic disorders in ART babies?
The aim of assisted reproductive technology (ART) is to achieve a single most important goal, the birth of a healthy child. ART is responsible for the birth of over 200,000 children each year worldwide. In the most common form of infertility treatment - IVF - the woman's eggs are collected and then combined with the man's sperm in a petri dish. The successfully fertilised eggs are then transferred into the woman's womb. In ...
Epigenetics: responding to life by switching genes on and off
Session 3 of the Progress Educational Trust's annual conference (PET), held on Wednesday 18 November 2009 at Clifford Chance, was chaired by Professor Dian Donnai,Professor of Medical Genetics at the University of Manchester, and started with a talk by Karen Temple, Professor of Medical Genetics and Honorary Consultant in Clinical Genetics at the University of Southampton and Wessex Clinical Genetics Service. Professor Temple gave an intriguing talk on the influence of parent...
Sperm linked to ART-related genetic disorders
Mutations in sperm used for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) may be responsible for causing the rare genetic disorders associated with these techniques...
Fatherless mice live longer
Mice produced in the laboratory from two biological mothers and without a father have been found to live significantly longer than normal mice bred from a mother and a father. These findings indicate that genetic traits inherited from the father but not the mother may play an important role in ageing and longevity....
New study on genetic risks of IVF
A large study has investigated the potential genetic risks to children conceived by in vitro fertilisation (IVF). It confirms earlier research indicating that babies born following assisted conception have a small increased risk of certain genetic health problems. The New York Times reports that in November last...
The medium is the message: assisted conception and the role of the media
The Medium is the Message' - a phrase coined by Marshal McLuhan in 1964 - implies that the type of presentation as much as the content of the message determines what gets incorporated into personal and societal views. This 'spin' element has and continues to be a significant component in the media...