A Belfast woman has given birth to the first 'saviour sibling' conceived in the UK: a baby girl who could help treat her seriously ill three-year-old brother. In September 2004, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) granted Joe and Julie Fletcher permission to have a tissue-matched baby to help...
Scientists at Imperial College London have announced that they have discovered a gene linked to type 2 diabetes and obesity. Defective versions of the gene ENPP1 disrupt the way the body stores energy and handles sugar by blocking the hormone insulin. Philippe Froguel and his team found that children with...
A new US bill that proposes funding research into alternatives to human embryonic stem (ES) cells is gaining support, and could take votes away from bill HR810, which proposes expanding federal funding for ES cell research. The new bill, HR3144 - introduced by Republican Senator Roscoe Bartlett - proposes $15 million a...
Most newborn babies in the US are not covered by the full panel of tests recommended by genetic screening experts, according to a report by the March of Dimes charity. Every state requires that infants are tested for a range of conditions, including genetic disorders and hearing problems. However, according...
Doctors at two UK hospitals have launched a trial project to identify people with a hereditary condition that causes very high blood cholesterol, which increases their risk of having a heart attack. The Royal Surrey County Hospital and Frimley Park Hospital in Hampshire are together one of five pilot centres...
A Korean biotech company has announced that it has succeeded in cloning a pig containing human genes, bringing them a step closer to transplanting pig organs into humans. Dr Park Kwang-wook and his team at Mgenbio produced the world's first cloned pig with the human HLA-G gene, an immunity gene...
Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich said he was ready for a 'firestorm of criticism' after he used an executive order on Tuesday to circumvent the legislature and allocate $10 million in state funds to embryonic stem (ES) cell research. Illinois becomes the fourth state to devote public money to the controversial...
Leading UK stem cell company ReNeuron is planning a return to the stock market two years after it was removed from the market following a series of technical disappointments. The company was able to raise £21 million when it was initially floated in 2000 and was valued at around £70...
Ethical concerns about research using human embryos and political pressure from Washington has been driving the search for alternative ways to derive stem cells in the United States. Now the possibility of 'reprogramming' adult skin cells into embryonic stem (ES) cells may be within reach in the next few years...
The Socialist government in Spain plans to introduce new legislation in September that would allow therapeutic cloning of human embryos for research purposes, according to its Health Minister, Elena Salgado. The new law will once again set the government against the Catholic Church in that country, further straining relations already...
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Sperm and egg donation: a system of need-adjusted reciprocity
by Professor Guido Pennings
The abolition of gamete donor anonymity has led to a greater shortage of candidate donors (including sperm donors) in several countries. All kinds of solutions have been proposed, including increased payment. Another solution, namely egg sharing, has been criticised by some as morally dubious. In the meantime, as the SEED...