A Japanese team of researchers has used embryonic stem cells to successfully repair the brain damage caused by Parkinson's disease in monkeys. The team, based at Kyoto University, used monkey embryo stem cells to produce nerve cells, which they transplanted into the brains of monkeys affected by a primate model...
US scientists have identified a genetic variation that partly explains people's different susceptibility to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The findings could help doctors tailor treatment to their patients' genetic make-up, say the team, who published their results in the early online edition of the journal Science. Scientists have...
Scientists in Australia have developed a sperm-sorting machine that can separate damaged sperm from healthy sperm during IVF treatment, increasing the chance of infertile or sub-fertile men being able to have their own genetic children. The machine - called Gradiflow - will be tested in clinical trials later this year. The new...
The UK's Department of Health is to launch a new national campaign to recruit egg and sperm donors in the country. It hopes to prevent further shortages of donors, a problem that has been exacerbated by new regulations, coming into force in April, which will remove anonymity from all future...
A 55-year old US grandmother has given birth to triplets - her own grandchildren - for her daughter. Tina Cade, from Virginia, carried the children for her daughter, Camille Hammond, who suffers from endometriosis, a condition affecting the lining of the uterus that makes it difficult to conceive naturally or sustain...
A 'gene chip' test that helps predict how people will react to certain medicines has now been approved for sale in the US by the Food and Drug administration (FDA). The AmpliChip Cytochrome P450, launched in 2003 by Swiss firm Roche Diagnostics, is one of the first commercial applications of...
A Romanian woman is set to become the world's oldest mother at the age of 67. Adriana Iliescu, a retired university lecturer, is said to be almost seven months pregnant with twin girls following ten years of fertility treatment. She also underwent hormone treatment for nine years to delay her...
An American woman has become the first owner of a commercially cloned pet. Julie, an airline worker from Dallas, paid $50,000 to a Californian company to clone her pet cat Nicky, who died last year aged 17. Little Nicky, as the new kitten has been named, was born last October...
People affected by cystic fibrosis (CF) could potentially be treated with their own bone marrow cells, say US scientists. A team based at the University of Pittsburgh has shown that stem cells from bone marrow are able to grow into epithelial cells, which line the airways of the lungs. The...
An Australian company is offering a genetic test it claims can identify children who have the potential to excel at either sprinting and 'power' sports or endurance events, the Times reports. The test, available online, is based on research published last year linking variations in the ACTN3 gene to differences...
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A new year, and a new chair for PET
by Laura Riley
Changes are afoot behind the scenes at Progress Educational Trust (PET), the UK charity that writes and publishes BioNews. Professor Marcus Pembrey has recently stepped down as Chair of PET after twelve years of dedicated and productive voluntary service. We're pleased to announce that the PET Chair is now David...