A team of scientists from the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland, has created the UK's first parthenogenic embryos, or 'parthenotes'. Using parthenogenesis - a Greek word that means 'virgin birth' - the research team were able to create embryos without the need for fertilisation of an egg by sperm. The Roslin team...
The UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has issued a licence to a team of scientists who want to carry out research on human embryos aimed at preventing genetic conditions caused by faults in the 'powerhouses' of the cell. Researchers at the University of Newcastle, funded by the Muscular...
Human embryonic stem (ES) cells grown for a long time in the laboratory become genetically unstable, according to a new study by an international group of researchers. The scientists, who published their findings in the journal Nature Genetics, say that many of the older cell lines they studied had acquired...
The US Preventive Services Task Force has published guidelines on assessing the risk of familial breast and ovarian cancer. It states that genetic counselling is only appropriate for women whose family history suggests they may have inherited a mutation in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast cancer genes. The recommendations were...
Research published by the UK's Audit Commission says that a 'postcode lottery' still exists in many aspects of the provision of medical services, despite guidance issued to ensure that patients across the nation have equal access to services and drug provision. Included in the Audit Commission's report is the provision...
Speaking at the British Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Dublin, Lord Robert Winston in his presidential address criticised scientists for over-hyping the potential clinical benefits of embryonic stem (ES) cell research. Lord Winston referred to work carried out in his own lab and others, that had highlighted...
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Comment
Healthy babies with two parents (oh, and a tiny bit of DNA from someone else)
by Virginia Bolton
This week saw another very positive illustration of the rigour and effectiveness of the regulatory system that exists in the UK to licence research using human embryos. However, it also highlighted ambiguities in the wording of the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, which is currently the focus of a...