Two new US studies have pinpointed a key gene involved in the ability of adult stem cells to continually produce new body cells, a discovery the scientists say could help develop new disease treatments. A team based at the University of Michigan has shown that a gene called Bmi-1...
The Science and Technology Committee of the UK House of Commons is to look at whether the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act of 1990 is still working effectively. The committee announced that it will conduct an inquiry into the future of the 1990 Act, in the light of a number...
As many as a fifth of a woman's eggs are genetically scrambled - but it's not because they can't check their chromosomes, say a team of UK and French scientists. A new study published in the journal Reproduction shows that egg-producing cells in mammals have a mechanism for checking their chromosomes...
Lorraine Hadley, one of the two women prevented from using embryos kept in frozen storage because her husband refused the necessary consent, has said she will not battle further to be able to use them. Ms Hadley had created two embryos during IVF treatment with her former husband, Wayne. After...
Following its initial approval in July 2003, the Spanish government has ruled that research will be allowed to take place on frozen-thawed human embryos, as long as they are donated for research purposes after being left over from fertility treatments. The Spanish parliament made a ruling on 16 October that...
A team of UK and US scientists have identified a gene that triggers puberty, which they say could also help research into infertility and some cancer treatments. The scientists, based at Massachusetts General Hospital and biotech firm Paradigm Therapeutics, report that mutations in the gene prevent puberty starting in both...
Women who inherit mutations in one of two genes involved in inherited breast cancer have an 82 per cent lifetime risk of developing the disease, according to a new study carried out by the New York Breast Cancer Study Group (NYBCS). They found that women who have a genetic mutation...
UK scientists have finished an in-depth study of chromosome six, the seventh human chromosome to be analysed in detail. The team, from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, say the chromosome is made up of nearly 167 million base-pairs - chemical 'letters' of DNA - which means that it accounts for...
The UK's National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the National Collaborating Centre for Women's and Children's Health have published recommendations for the National Health Service in England and Wales on the routine care of healthy pregnant women. The NICE guidance includes advice on how many antenatal appointments each woman...
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Comment
Do the UK embryology laws need updating?
by Juliet Tizzard
The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has recently announced that it will conduct an enquiry into human reproductive technologies and the law. Concerned about a number of recent legal challenges to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Act 1990, the committee feels that the legislation is getting quickly...