Scientists from Imperial College, London, report that they have successfully turned mouse stem cells into the type of lung cell that absorbs oxygen and excretes carbon dioxide. The scientists believe that the possibility of using stem cells to do the same in humans - to regenerate damaged lung tissue or even...
Dr Panayiotis Zavos has told a US Senate subcommittee that the birth of the world's first human clone baby could take place in 2003. He told the House Government Reform Committee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources that he has set up two cloning laboratories where he is...
A third cloning bill has been introduced to the US Senate, where senators are currently considering whether to ban human cloning in its entirety, or allow cloning technology to be allowed for therapeutic purposes, but not to produce a baby. The new bill, introduced by Senator Byron Dorgan, would ban...
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, US, have reported that they have discovered that a single gene, 'essential' to embryo development, is lacking in many cloned embryos. The research is published in the journal Genes and Development. The gene, known as Oct4, must be expressed at certain levels and at...
Baroness Mary Warnock, who chaired the 1984 government inquiry into human fertilisation and embryo research that led to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act in 1990, has recommended that the law be changed to allow children who are conceived using donated sperm to trace their biological fathers. Baroness Warnock, who...
Stay up-to-date on all the latest developments in the fields of human fertility and genomics. And be the first to hear about upcoming events and other announcements.
Comment
Should egg and sperm donors remain anonymous?
by Dr Jess Buxton
Should people conceived through egg, embryo or sperm donation be able to find out the identity of their biological parents? This issue was the subject of much discussion in the UK media last week, following news that Baroness Warnock appears to have changed her mind on the matter à eighteen years...