Asian and black women who undergo in vitro fertilisation (IVF) are less likely to become pregnant than white or Hispanic women, according to new research presented last week at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) meeting in Philadelphia. Doctors at the University of Kansas-Wichita showed that while the average...
A range of common health problems could be caused by gene faults in aging mitochondria - the 'powerhouses' of the cell - US scientists say. The team, based at Yale University School of Medicine, say their findings could help explain 'metabolic syndrome' - a combination of high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, obesity...
The United Nations (UN) has again failed to reach an agreement on an international treaty regulating human cloning. All 191 UN members agree on a treaty first proposed in 2001, which would ban reproductive cloning of human beings. However, they are divided over an alternative proposal, which seeks a wider...
A US scientist who suggested that attempts to clone primates might never succeed using current technology has created cloned monkey embryos. Gerald Schatten and his colleagues transferred the embryos into female monkeys, but none of the resulting pregnancies lasted more than a month. The team, based at the University of...
Charlie Whitaker, the boy at the centre of a fierce debate over so-called 'saviour siblings', is 'effectively cured' of his rare blood condition. Six-year-old Charlie, who has Diamond Blackfan anaemia (DBA), received a transplant of cells taken from the umbilical cord of his brother James earlier this year. Three months...
The 13-year project to read the entire genetic code of a human being is now complete, say the scientists involved. A detailed analysis of the final human genome 'gold standard' sequence appears in the latest issue of the journal Nature. Surprisingly, it reveals that the estimated number of genes...
Scientists at the University of Newcastle are applying for a licence to create embryos with 'three parents', in order to prevent genetic conditions caused by faults in the 'powerhouses' of the cell. Doug Turnbull and Mary Herbert have submitted an application to the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which...
Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Republican governor of California, has formally endorsed a bill that, if passed, would provide $3 billion of funding for embryonic stem (ES) cell research in the state over the next ten years. The bill, known as proposition 71, or the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative...
A panel of fertility experts has analysed medical data on children conceived by in vitro fertilisation (IVF), and found that overall, they are no more likely to have major health problems than naturally conceived children. They found no evidence to suggest that IVF increases the incidence of major birth defects...
BioNews, published by the Progress Educational Trust (PET), provides news and comment on genetics, assisted conception, embryo/stem cell research and related areas.
Comment
UN delay is good news for supporters of therapeutic cloning
by Dr Jess Buxton
Last week, the much anticipated debate on cloning began again at the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN). A year after it last discussed global regulation of human cloning technology, the UN appears no closer to reaching any conclusions on this controversial issue. In fact, at the time of...