A set of twins born following fertility treatments in the UK have been described as having 'five parents'. According to newspaper reports, they are the first ever children to have this many parents, 'one of whom is also their grandmother'. The journal Reproductive BioMedicine Online, where the case is reported...
UK researchers have developed a human embryonic stem (ES) cell line which carries the genetic defect underlying cystic fibrosis (CF). The scientists, based at King's College London, say the cell line will be useful for studying how the CF gene mutation affects cells, as well as for testing out gene...
The pressure group GeneWatch UK has called for stricter controls on the marketing of genetic tests, and wants the Commons Select Committee on health to consider the issue. According to a report in the Guardian newspaper, GeneWatch is concerned about recent lobbying by pharmaceutical company Roche, which wants the US...
US researchers have identified a gene linked to alcoholism and depression, the first to be associated with both conditions. Scientists at the Washington University School of Medicine think that variations in a gene called CHRM2 either increase or decrease the likelihood that a person will be affected by one or...
The Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics has 'pulled' a peer-reviewed paper on human cloning from controversial US fertility doctor Panos Zavos. This follows the news last month that he had made more unsubstantiated claims about his human cloning experiments. Norman Gleicher, editor-in-chief of the journal, said that although the...
An Italian newspaper has reported that a hospital in Turin, Italy, gave two women undergoing fertility treatment the morning-after pill half an hour after artificial insemination took place, following a suspected sperm mix-up. One of the couples involved noticed that the sperm sample being used had the wrong man's name...
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Twins have two parents, not five
by Professor Kirsty Horsey
As we report in this week's BioNews, a story has emerged has emerged about a pair of twins who were born in the UK following the use of IVF with both donated embryos and surrogacy. The media story is made all the more complicated by the fact that the woman...