Human cloning impossible?
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...
Comment
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...