The United Nations (UN) has approved a declaration calling for a ban on human cloning for both reproductive and research purposes. The assembly's legal committee voted 71 to 35 in favour of the non-binding statement, backed by the Bush administration, with 43 abstentions. The declaration will now pass to the...
A new bill, designed to expand funding for embryonic stem (ES) cell research, has been introduced to both chambers of the US federal legislature. Last Wednesday, bill HR810, also known as the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005, was put forward by a bipartisan group of members of the...
The US Senate has unanimously approved a bill that would ban employers and insurers from using genetic information. Senators voted 98-0 in favour of the bill last Thursday, although it now faces an uncertain future in the House of Representatives. In 2003, the Senate passed a nearly identical bill...
US researchers have published a detailed map of key variations in our genetic make-up, information they say will help pinpoint genes involved in many common diseases. The team, based at Californian firm Perlegen Sciences, has identified and studied 1.58 million genetic 'markers' in 71 people from three different populations. The...
US and Japanese researchers have used gene therapy to restore the hearing of deaf guinea pigs, an achievement they say is 'the first time anyone has biologically repaired the hearing of an animal'. The team, based at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbour, delivered a gene to the inner...
Natallie Evans, a British woman seeking the right to be able to use her own frozen IVF embryos, is taking her case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The embryos were created using her own eggs and sperm from her then partner, who later withdrew his consent to...
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UN cloning declaration will achieve little
by Dr Jess Buxton
In this week's BioNews, we report on the latest instalment in the ongoing saga of the United Nation (UN)'s deliberations on cloning. What started out, in 2001, as a proposed treaty to ban human reproductive cloning has ended up as a non-binding declaration calling on nations to ban all...