Researchers have pinpointed a key gene involved in the successful formation of a zygote (fertilised egg). The team, based at the University of Bath in the UK and the Centre de Genetique Moleculaire et Cellulaire in France, studied the role of the Hira gene during the first 15 minutes after...
A British woman who became infertile after treatment for cervical cancer has had a baby with help from her two sisters. Her identical twin sister donated the egg that was used to create the pregnancy and the other had the resulting IVF embryo implanted into her and carried the child...
A report in the UK's Independent on Sunday newspaper says that women should be warned not to leave it too long to try for a baby. Reporters spoke to Dr Richard Kennedy from the British Fertility Society (BFS), who said that women are 'lulled into a false sense of security...
Alterations in a gene involved in 'wiring up' the brain may cause up to 20 per cent of dyslexia cases, say US researchers. The team, based at Yale School of Medicine in Connecticut, say that mutations in the DCDC2 gene could cause the common language disorder. The scientists published their...
A new US trial will look at the social effects of allowing parents to choose whether they have a baby girl or boy. The study, based at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, will follow up babies born following the use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to choose...
An international team of scientists has published a map of human genetic variation, an achievement they say will speed the search for genes involved in conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. The 'HapMap' project, launched in 2002 by the International HapMap consortium, is looking at DNA samples from 270...
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Comment
The sex selection debate: more evidence is needed
by Dr Jess Buxton
Allowing parents to select embryos purely on the basis of their sex is one of the most controversial uses of reproductive technology, and usually one that generates plenty of press coverage every time it's mentioned. Not so last week, however, when the journal Nature reported on (and press-released) details of...