A gene fault has been identified which contributes towards a severe form of spina bifida. Scientists at London's Institute of Child Health and Imperial College have been searching for the genetic link for ten years. They now plan to develop a screening test for at-risk parents. It is also hoped...
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) warned parents in the UK last week against banking the cord blood and umbilical cells from their babies in order to have 'insurance' against future diseases in their children. Scientists and doctors have said that the procedure cannot be justified on scientific...
Following last week's ruling in the High Court that effectively made it legal for human cloning to take place in this country, legislation making human reproductive cloning has been introduced to Parliament on a fast-track procedure. The Human Reproductive Cloning Bill was published and introduced to the House of Lords...
Scientists in the US announced yesterday that they had created a cloned human embryo for the first time. Their work was part of research into therapeutic cloning - creating cells or tissue for transplant from a person's own cloned embryo and subsequently lessening the risk of rejection. The research team also...
The reaction from the US Congress to the news that Advanced Cell Technology (ACT), a Massachusetts biotechnology company, had produced cloned human embryos was almost immediate. Senator Tom Daschle, the majority leader, said yesterday that he did not yet quite understand what the company had done, adding; 'but it's disconcerting...
A study of 30 cloned cows in the US has found that the majority of them are healthy and have no signs of the physical abnormalities that have affected other cloned animals. The study was undertaken by scientists from the Mayo Clinic, Pennsylvania, and three other companies involved in animal...
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Does therapeutic cloning need regulation?
by Juliet Tizzard
At the time of writing, the UK House of Lords is in the middle of debating the Human Reproductive Cloning Bill. So far, the discussion has been largely calm and considered and the Lords seem united in their opposition to human reproductive cloning. But a few peers have voiced concerns...