New prospective parents have been found for the twins being carried by British surrogate Helen Beasley. Ms Beasley had had a surrogacy arrangement with an American couple, but is currently involved in legal action against them after they 'abandoned' her when she refused to abort one of the two fetuses...
Scientists from the US Duke University Medical Centre in Durham, North Carolina, have discovered that it may be easier to clone a human than it is to clone sheep, mice or other mammals. It is thought that this is because humans possess a single genetic difference that has not been...
Following President Bush's announcement last week that a limited amount of stem cell research can take place in the US, a dispute has broken out between a patent agency and a California company involved in such research. The dispute is about future access to stem cell lines. A lawsuit was...
Scientists from Canada's McGill University in Montreal have reported that it may become possible for human skin cells to transform into other types of tissue cells, such as muscle, nerve or fat. The researchers think that stem cells isolated from the lowest levels of skin may eventually be harvested in...
Two American companies have teamed up in order to create 'mass-produced' 'cloned' chickens for the US market. Origen Therapeutics from California and Embrex in North Carolina have been given a $4.7 million development grant by the US National Institute of Science and Technology. Although the process involved is not actually...
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Opposites attract on the surrogacy issue
by Juliet Tizzard
There is something about a surrogacy case - particularly a failed one - which seems to bring everyone out in a rash of moral outrage. The latest such incident is the case of Helen Beasley, whose story was first reported in last week's BioNews. Surrogacy is one of those issues that often...