Dolly, the world's first mammal cloned from an adult cell, has been mounted on a plinth and put on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, not far from the Roslin Institute where she was created. Dolly was put down two months ago because of a progressive lung...
The UK Court of Appeal has overturned a previous High Court ruling that prevented Raj and Shahana Hashmi from using IVF along with preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and 'tissue typing'. The new ruling means they can continue with attempts to conceive a healthy child who would be a possible cord...
A new survey, conducted by MORI on behalf of a coalition of British public and charitable organisations with a common interest in stem cell research, shows that about 70 per cent of the British public support human embryo research to find treatments for serious illnesses or infertility. MORI interviewed 2001...
Last week in BioNews we reported that Professor Robert Edwards, the scientist jointly responsible for the first ever IVF birth in 1978, 'apparently' supports the intentions of Panos Zavos to clone humans ('New clone claim' BioNews 202, 7 April 2003). However, both the Sunday Times source article and our summary...
Most genetic tests that offer health information should not be sold directly to the public, the UK's human genetics watchdog recommended last week. In a new report entitled 'Genes direct: ensuring the effective oversight of genetic tests supplied directly to the public', the Human Genetics Commission (HGC) called for stricter...
The European Parliament voted last week against all forms of human cloning and put heavy restrictions on research on stem cells taken from early human embryos, after a series of amendments were added to a directive originally intended to protect the health of those receiving donated cells or tissues. Researchers...
Attempts to clone primates, including humans, may never succeed using current technology, according to a new US study. A group of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh has found that vital proteins are lost from the egg during the nuclear transfer procedure, the technique used to create Dolly the sheep...
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Interpreting the House of Lords' decision on cloning
by Professor Emily Jackson
Because the UK House of Lords' decision in 'R (on the application of Quintavalle) v Secretary of State for Health' simply confirms that the law regulating the production of cloned embryos is as the Government had assumed it to be before the Pro-Life Alliance began its legal challenge in the...
A tissue-matched baby: what's wrong with that?
by Juliet Tizzard
This week's BioNews reports on the defeat in the Court of Appeal of a legal attempt to stop preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and tissue typing in the UK. The ruling means that the Raj and Shahana Hashmi can now continue with treatment to have a child who is free from...
Good parents? Choosing a donor child
by Dr Helen Watt
What does it mean to be a good parent, in a situation like the Hashmis'? This may seem an odd question to ask about an exemplary mother and father: after all, are not the Hashmis doing everything they can to save their child? Zain does not, it is true, need...
Genes direct
by Philip Webb
When people think of genetic testing in the medical context, they will most likely associate this with a visit to their GP or a referral by their GP to an NHS hospital. They would expect tests on their DNA to establish whether they are suffering from an inherited disorder or...