New technique may improve success of egg freezing
Scientists from the University of Michigan, US, have developed a new egg freezing technique that may improve the chances of women who want to have children following treatment for cancer...
News
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Romney vetoes Massachusetts stem cell bill
Mitt Romney, the State Governor of Massachusetts, US, has vetoed a piece of legislation on embryonic stem (ES) cell research that has already been passed twice by state lawmakers. The legislation, which was sponsored by Senate President Robert Travaglini, allows embryos to be cloned for medical research purposes, but prohibits...
Israel allows 'social' sex selection
Israeli parents who have at least four children of the same sex may now be allowed to use preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to conceive a child of the opposite sex. A new directive passed on 19 May will allow couples to apply for permission to select embryos according to their...
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
Passive smoking could lower chances of IVF success
Canadian researchers have discovered that a woman's fertility can be affected almost as much by passive smoking as by actual smoking. Published this week in the journal Human Reproduction, the study shows that exposure to 'side-stream smoking' - defined as smoke given off by a smouldering cigarette - is equally damaging to...
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
Doubt cast over new 'stembrid' cells
US scientists claim that they have developed a new technique for creating patient-matched embryonic stem (ES) cells, which does not involve 'therapeutic cloning'. Yuri Verlinsky, of the Reproductive Genetics Institute in Chicago, unveiled the new method at the recent Sixth International Symposium on Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis, held in London. However...
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
UK IVF success rates and waiting times published
The UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has published a new edition of its 'Guide to Infertility'. The Guide contains details of all UK clinics that are licensed under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 to carry out in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and donor insemination (DI), although it...
Bush backs alternatives to ES cell research
At the same time as the US's Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 was passed through the House of Representatives, another bill on stem cell research was passed. Members of the House also voted in favour of new legislation that would promote the use of adult stem cells derived...
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
Gene clue to baldness
German scientists have identified a gene involved in premature baldness that is passed on from mothers to their sons. The research, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, showed that men who inherit a particular version of the androgen receptor gene are much more likely to go bald before...
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
US Congress votes in favour of extensions to ES cell research
The US House of Representatives has approved a bill that would overturn President Bush's current policy on human embryonic stem (ES) cell research. Members of the House voted 238-194 in favour of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005, which was sponsored by Michael Castle and Dianne DeGette...
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
Twins shed light on antisocial behaviour
Antisocial behaviour in children is strongly influenced by genetic factors - but only when accompanied by psychopathic tendencies, say UK scientists. The researchers, based at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College in London, studied twins to investigate the role of genes and other factors in behaviour. Their findings, published in...
Comment
Egg cell trade endangers the European Union as a community of values
by Hiltrud Beyer MEP
Over the last couple of months, media reports in the field of bioethics have been dominated by headlines about an egg cell trade between the UK and Romania, as well of the speeding up of cloning projects in South Korea. What do these two developments - and others - have in common...
Hopes and hurdles in stem cell research
by Dr Jess Buxton
New cell-based treatments for a range of illnesses came a step closer to reality recently, when a team of South Korean scientists announced they had created human embryonic stem (ES) cell lines genetically matched to 11 different patients. The success of Woo Suk Hwang and his colleagues confirmed his team's...