Doctors may one day be able to use gene therapy to treat fetuses affected by genetic conditions, say UK scientists. Researchers at Imperial College, University College and the Royal Free Hospital, all in London, have successfully used gene therapy to treat unborn mice affected by haemophilia B. Simon Waddington, of...
The Norway brown rat joins humans and mice as the third mammal to have its entire genetic code unveiled. An international group of scientists has published the draft genome sequence of Rattus norvegicus, in the journal Nature. For years, medical researchers have used the rat in laboratory studies to understand...
Variations in a gene involved in energy production could be linked to autism, US researchers say. A team based at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York studied 720 people from 411 families, who all have either autism, or the related condition autistic disorder. They found that variations...
Scientists have published the complete DNA sequences of chromosomes 19 and 13, bringing the total number of fully decoded human chromosomes to nine. A team lead by researchers at the Stanford Human Genome Center in Paolo Alto, US, carried out the chromosome 19 project, while scientists at the Wellcome Trust...
President Bush's Council on Bioethics has released wide-ranging recommendations calling for greater regulation of assisted reproductive technology (ART). The report, entitled 'Reproduction and Responsibility: The Regulation of the New Biotechnologies', advises that the American federal government should become more involved in the regulation of fertility clinics. It says the fertility...
Viagra, the 'wonder-drug' promoted for its ability to relieve impotence in men, may have some unwanted side-effects. Research presented today in Cheltenham, UK, at the annual meeting of the British Fertility Society, suggests that men who are taking Viagra when trying to start a family may actually be decreasing their...
Men considering having a vasectomy, believing the procedure might later be reversible, may want to think even more carefully about their decision. Research presented today in Cheltenham, UK, at the annual meeting of the British Fertility Society, suggests that even if the surgical effect of a vasectomy can be undone...
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Wise words from across the pond?
by Juliet Tizzard
The President's Council on Bioethics, chaired by Dr Leon Kass, has published a report into assisted reproductive technologies. Judging from draft recommendations published at the end of 2003 and from previous reports on related issues, supporters of IVF and embryo research were expecting a long list of bans and warnings...