Canadian researchers have managed to turn mouse embryo stem (ES) cells into immune cells in the laboratory, a development they say could help treat cancer and HIV patients. Researchers at the University of Toronto managed to coax the ES cells to grow into 'T-cells', which normally destroy infected or cancerous...
Women smokers with a particular genetic variation are more likely to benefit from nicotine patches when trying to quit than others, a new UK study suggests. Researchers at the University of Oxford studied 445 women and 307 men who had been heavy smokers, who were given either nicotine or control...
The Vatican has launched a new attack on IVF and other fertility treatments that may involve embryos being destroyed, describing them as 'a massacre of the innocents', and adding that 'no war or catastrophe has ever caused so many victims'. In the latest statement, issued by the Vatican's Pontifical Academy...
A second UK couple are hoping to use PGD (preimplantation genetic diagnosis) to conceive an IVF baby free from beta thalassaemia, who will also be able to provide cord blood to treat a sibling with the incurable blood disorder. The IVF treatment will carried out at the private Centre for...
A new DNA 'chip' could pave the way for breast cancer treatments tailored to individual patients, according to French biotechnology company Ipsogen. Alane Koki, the firm's scientific director, told delegates attending the fourth European Breast Cancer Conference in Hamburg that the breast cancer profile chip (BCPC) could be available this...
A woman accused of deceiving two couples into giving her money for her services as a surrogate has appeared before a UK Magistrates' Court. Moira Greenslade faces charges on three counts of obtaining money by deception and three offences under the Adoption Act. It is alleged that, while pregnant, she...
Two new studies have identified a link between type 2 diabetes, also known as adult-onset diabetes, and variations in a gene involved in regulating the body's glucose levels. One study, carried out by Finnish and US researchers, looked at 793 Finnish adults with the disease and compared them to 413...
A genetic test that identifies women at risk of developing osteoporosis could soon be available, the Daily Telegraph reports. Icelandic firm deCODE published a study last year, which suggested that certain variations in a gene called BMP2 could triple the risk of the bone-weakening disease. Now the Reykjavik-based company plans...
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Happy birthday BioNews
by Juliet Tizzard
Today is BioNews' fifth birthday and its 250th issue. Since we launched in 1999, the worlds of reproductive medicine, stem cell research and human genetics have given us plenty to write about. In fertility research and treatment, work to restore the fertility of cancer patients has moved on tremendously. A...