The drugs entrepreneur, Dr Chris Evans, and the International Biotechnology Trust have merged to create a new investment vehicle with funds in excess of £150m. Evan's company, Merlin Ventures, will take over the running of the trust from Rothschild Asset Management, which recently announced its withdrawal from biotechnology. The head...
Most leadership traits are heritable, according to a study published in the journal Twin Research. A group of researchers headed by Professor Andrew Johnson of the University of Western Ontario, in Canada, found in their study of almost 250 pairs of twins that identical twins were more likely to reach...
New research published in the journal Nature has increased scientists' understanding of how mutations in the presenilin gene increases the risk of developing inherited, early-onset Alzheimer's disease. About 40% of people with this inherited form of Alzheimer's have a mutation in the presenilin genes which predisposes them to the accumulation...
Federal funding for scientists wanting to carry out experiments on stem cells derived from human embryos came another step closer in the US last week. Last Thursday, a group of biologists and lawyers drafted guidelines under which stem cell research could take place. Human embryonic stem cells were successfully isolated...
Last week saw the inauguration of the National Institute for Clinical Standards (NICE) - a body charged with identifying best practice and raising standards within the NHS. Sir Michael Rawlins, professor of pharmacology at Newcastle University, was appointed chairman and membership of the six-strong board was named. A key role of...
The maverick Italian fertility specialist, Severino Antinori, has announced that he intends to deliver IVF millennium babies by caesarian section. Dr Antinori said last week that he had helped 14 women conceive by in vitro fertilisation techniques and said that he hoped to make the first incision within two seconds...
A year-long search by Princeton University involving three committees of scholars and 19 outside experts from disparate disciplines has resulted in a unanimous decision to appoint Peter Singer - a world famous animal rights activist - to the chair in bioethics at the University's Center for Human Values. The appointment has caused...
Stay up-to-date on all the latest developments in the fields of human fertility and genomics. And be the first to hear about upcoming events and other announcements.
Comment
Who wants a millennium baby anyway?
by Juliet Tizzard
The media have gone millennium baby mad. In Britain and around the world, newspapers, radio stations and television networks have been falling over themselves to make the most of the chance to conceive the first child of the millennium. The UK's ITV television channel offered us Birth Race 2000, a...