Researchers at DeCODE genetics, the Rekyavik-based company studying the genetic records of the Icelandic population, announced last week that it had discovered a gene linked to the main form of Parkinson's disease. The gene was found on a small section of chromosome one after a study of data from 51...
A report in the journal Human Reproduction details what is thought to be the first time that conception from in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and natural intercourse has happened in the same woman at the same time. A woman undergoing IVF treatment in California, US, had only two embryos transferred to...
Insurance companies in the UK have agreed to impose a voluntary five-year ban on the use of genetic testing. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) announced last week that it agrees with the government on a policy of not asking people seeking insurance to reveal their DNA test results unless...
Scientists from the Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Genetics in Los Angeles, US are seeking a way to fertilise human eggs without the need for sperm. The research involves the use of a chemical cocktail which acts as 'artificial sperm', tricking an egg to form an embryo. The embryos would...
Scientists working on a year-long project to sequence the genome of the poisonous puffer fish have discovered that the genetic make-up of the fish is surprisingly similar to that of humans. Dr Greg Elgar of the UK Medical Research Council's Human Genome Mapping Resource Centre said 'it's extraordinary how similar...
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Is a moratorium enough?
by Juliet Tizzard
News that the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has agreed to refrain from asking its customers for genetic tests results has been greeted with open arms this week. Genetics regulators, patients and doctors alike have all breathed a sigh of relief that a five-year moratorium on the use of genetic...