RNA-based control switch could be used to turn on gene therapies in cells
A new technique to turn therapeutic genes on in specific cells has been developed, potentially changing the future of gene therapies...
News
Embryonic stem cells can self-destruct when defective
Insight into genetic control of human embryonic stem cells' fate has offered new insight into cancer genetics and could inform future work in regenerative medicine...
Gene therapy enhances the effects of Parkinson's disease drug in mice
Gene therapy delivered to a novel mouse model of Parkinson's disease improved the effects of existing Parkinson's drug levodopa...
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
Gene variants linked to syndrome that causes hearing loss and infertility
New genes have been linked to a rare genetic condition that causes hearing loss in women and men, and early menopause and infertility in women...
Whole genome sequencing useful for diagnosing mitochondrial disorders
Whole genome sequencing can facilitate faster and more accurate diagnoses of rare mitochondrial disorders, new research has revealed...
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).
Brain organoids to help identify therapies for neurodegenerative disease
Miniature brain-like structures grown in the laboratory are being used to uncover mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases and to screen for effective treatments...
Postcode lottery persists for England's fertility patients
A national audit has highlighted regional differences in IVF funding, set by local clinical commissioning groups...
Scientists uncover why certain genotype increases risk of dying from COVID-19
A mechanism has been uncovered which explains why genetic variation at a particular site on the third chromosomes in humans makes people twice as likely to die from COVID-19...
Reviews
Book Review: Wish, Miracle, Me! – A modern family love poem for donor-conceived children
Although I initially thought that this book was written by a donor-conceived person from the blurb on the back of the book, it was not. Rather, it was written in the voice of a donor-conceived child, but written by the mother of that donor-conceived child…
Comment
Partner-created embryos' – time to change the law to support lesbian couples
by Dr Ippokratis Sarris
Shared motherhood', also known as 'reception of oocytes from the partner' or 'intra-partner egg donation', or 'reciprocal motherhood', is a type of fertility treatment undertaken by female same-sex couples...
FILM: Female Fertility – What Does the Future Hold?
by BioNews
This film documents a Progress Educational Trust event about the future of female fertility...
Newborn Screening: What Should Be Screened for and How?
by Dr Yvonne Collins
Currently, only nine conditions are screened for in the UK, which is fewer than many other high-income countries. Although many patient groups advocate for new conditions to be added to the list, this has not happened...