A report published last week says that many pregnant women in Britain are not offered the best available screening test for Down's syndrome. The report, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), says that tests currently being used are less efficient, more costly and mean that more women than necessary...
A London clinic has confirmed that it is considering offering IVF treatment using donor sperm to a post-menopausal French woman. The 47-year old woman is not able to receive treatment in France as it is illegal there to be treated after the menopause. The woman will use an anonymously...
A team of scientists from four medical research centres in the US has discovered that a section of chromosome four contains a gene or genes associated with longevity. By studying the genes of 137 people aged 100 years or more, and their siblings aged between 91 and 109, a section...
Celebrities are being offered the right to copyright their DNA by a Californian firm, in an effort to protect them from rogue cloning. Theoretically it would be possible for a fan to obtain some of their favourite star's DNA and use this for cloning to get the 'ultimate piece of...
A new study has found that the intrauterine device (IUD, or coil) is safe, and that women who use an IUD as a contraceptive are at no higher risk of becoming infertile. IUDs were a popular contraceptive in the 1970s, when it is estimated that 20 per cent of women...
Sixty-four embryonic stem cell lines have been identified by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) as eligible for use in federally funded projects. Ten research centres and companies around the world hold these stem cell lines. Only four of these groups are in the US, with others in Australia...
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Comment
Rational debate on 'incest' IVF needed
by Juliet Tizzard
Weekend news of a woman who is to conceive using her brother's sperm has caused a flurry of press attention in the UK. The clinic involved, the Bridge Centre in London, seems to be on its own in defending its decision to help the woman conceive. Most others commentators - pro...