The final version of the entire human genome sequence was unveiled last week by the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, more than two years ahead of schedule. Since the 'rough draft' was published in February 2001, researchers have been proof-reading the sequence, and filling in most of the gaps. A...
Injections of adult stem cells appear to have cured paralysis in mice affected by a form of multiple sclerosis (MS), a team of Italian researchers reported in Nature last week. The scientists, based at the Stem Cell Research Institute at the San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, hope that a similar treatment...
Gene therapy can trick liver cells into behaving like insulin-producing pancreas cells, and temporarily cure diabetic mice, a group of US researchers reported last week. Their results could eventually lead to a new treatment for people affected by Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes. The team, based at...
Two teams of scientists have identified the genetic cause of progeria, a rare premature ageing condition. Their findings could lead to a new treatment for the disease, and could also provide insights into the normal ageing process. The researchers, based at the National Human Genome Research Institute, US, and the...
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Gene hype?
by Juliet Tizzard
This week we report on the completion of the human genome sequence. But you could be forgiven for missing it. Only the Guardian newspaper gave the announcement significant column inches - most other news organisations gave it little more than a passing mention. Nearly three years ago, in June 2000, when...
'Pro-life' tactics on tissue typing
by Colin Gavaghan
A] defeat for society at large and certainly an overwhelming defeat for Parliamentary democracy.' So read the response from Josephine Quintavalle, Director of CORE (Comment on Reproductive Ethics), to April's UK Court of Appeal decision concerning tissue typing. The Court had reversed an earlier decision, in which a judge had...
Time to review embryology laws?
by Ian Gibson MP
In 1938, Aldous Huxley published a widely read book concerning the possible impact of the rapidly developing life sciences on human beings. Brave New World is a fanciful story about what human life could be like AF (After Ford) 600 - Ford being the symbol of mass production. The numbers and...