News that an Indian clinic is offering treatments based on human embryonic stem (ES) cells has triggered calls for tighter regulation in the country, the UK's Guardian newspaper reports. Scientist Geeta Shroff, head of the Delhi-based Nu Tech Mediworld Clinic, claims to have treated over 100 patients with injections of...
The future of an international consortium aiming to advance human embryo stem (ES) cell research is looking increasingly uncertain, following allegations that its South Korean head, Woo Suk Hwang, used eggs donated by a junior researcher to create cell lines. On 12 November, Gerald Schatten, from Pittsburgh University in the...
The state Senate of Ohio has approved legislation that would limit the use of state funds for 'therapeutic' cloning and human embryonic stem (ES) cell research. It would also prevent people in the state benefiting from therapies developed in other states or countries that had been developed using cloning techniques...
A study of Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in the UK has found that at least 23 were not providing any National Health Service (NHS)-funded fertility treatment by an April deadline earlier this year. Eighteen other PCTS were only offering IVF under 'exceptional circumstances' and many others were denying treatment...
A British politician has said that marriages between first cousins should be outlawed because of the increased risk of genetic disorders in their children. Ann Cryer, the MP for Keighley, Bradford, told the BBC's Newsnight programme that British Asians should be persuaded to abandon the tradition. A report commissioned by...
Scottish researchers have identified another gene involved in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (manic depression), a discovery that could lead to new drug treatments for the conditions. The team, based at the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, has shown that an altered version of a gene called PDE4B is linked to...
Scientists based at Rutgers University in New Jersey, US have bred 'fearless' mice by deactivating a single gene. Studying the animals could help develop new treatments for anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder in humans, say the researchers, who published their findings in the journal Cell. The mice are missing a...
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Australian embryo research laws: time for change?
by Dr Sarah Chan
The regulation of research using human embryos is one of the most ethically complex areas of law in any country. Since 2002, in Australia, research on human embryos, including creating human embryonic stem (ES) cells, has been governed by the Research Involving Human Embryos Act and the Prohibition of Human...