Multiple births down in Europe, but IVF pregnancy rates remain stable
News from ESHRE – IVF pregnancy rates have remained the same in Europe, despite reduction in multiple embryo transfers...
News
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.
'Road map' proposed for extending embryo research limit to 28 days
An international group of experts has proposed a 'road map' suggesting how the longstanding 14-day limit on human embryo research might be extended to 28 days...
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.
NHS treats first haemophilia B patient with gene therapy
The first haemophilia B patient has been treated with gene therapy on the NHS...
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
Microplastics present in human ovarian and seminal fluids
News from ESHRE – microplastics have been found in samples of human reproductive fluids...
Employers should recognise IVF is medical treatment, says UK report
Employees undergoing fertility treatment need time off, say fertility campaigners in a new report...
Image by Matthew Daniels via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts human cells, showing the stages of cell division.
Base editing corrects mitochondrial DNA mutation in human cells
A precision genome editing approach has successfully corrected harmful mutations in mitochondrial DNA, offering new hope for treating currently incurable mitochondrial diseases...
Ireland extends state-funded IVF to couples with one child
Ireland's health minister has announced that couples experiencing 'secondary' infertility will now be eligible for publicly funded fertility treatment...
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.
Rigid on/off patterns found in nearly 500 human genes
Nearly 500 'switch-like' genes that are either expressed highly or not at all have been identified from a large-scale study of gene expression from almost one thousand people...
Image by Christoph Bock/Max Planck Institute for Informatics via Wikimedia Commons. Depicts a DNA molecule that is methylated on both strands on the centre cytosine.
Epigenetic signature hints at why PCOS runs in families
News from ESHRE – the DNA of embryos from women with polycystic ovary syndrome carry specific epigenetic changes...
Reviews
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.
Event Review: Two Years On – Assessing the impact of surrogacy 'reforms' on future reproductive technologies
The symposium was 'an engaging and insightful experience that underscored the importance of open dialogue in shaping future policy', write Catherine Lewis and Lily MacLeod, master's students at King's College London...
Comment
Australia stands to benefit from surrogacy law review
by Dr Ezra Kneebone
As the Australian Law Reform Commission undertakes a review of surrogacy law, Dr Ezra Kneebone outlines why reform of the sector is in the interests of intended parents, surrogates and people born through surrogacy...
FILM: Professor Sir John Bell discusses Our Future Health
by BioNews
As the UK Government discusses the Our Future Health research programme in the new Ten-Year Health Plan for England, Professor Sir John Bell explains what the programme is seeking to achieve, and why...
PET Podcast: Lifestyle, Obesity, Diabetes – Optimising IVF Outcomes for Patients
by Sarah Norcross
Bringing you PET events as a podcast. In the 31st episode of its podcast, PET discusses health conditions and aspects of lifestyle that can affect fertility treatment outcomes, with Dr Antony Nicoll, Professor Rebecca Reynolds and Professor Colin Duncan...