By Dr Laura Bell: Research published in the journal Nature Genetics last week showed that variation between different ethnic groups, such as susceptibility to certain diseases, may be explained by variable gene expression. Samples collected for the International HapMap Project were used in the study. The HapMap was published last...
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has published a list of the best and worst performing fertility clinics in the UK. The regulator carried out inspections of the UK's 78 fertility clinics between April 2005 and March 2006. The clinics have been named following a request...
US researchers have identified a novel type of stem cell, derived from amniotic fluid, that they claim has the potential to develop into all types of body tissue. The scientists, working at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, North Carolina, isolated...
The UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has announced that it will hold a public consultation on the use of animal eggs in human embryo research. The decision follows a meeting held last week, at which the authority considered applications from two teams who want...
The US House of Representatives has voted in favour of legislation to expand federal funding for human embryonic stem (ES) cell research. The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act 2007 was passed by 253 votes to 174, but fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a...
By Antony Blackburn-Starza A £59 million stem cell research and regenerative medicine centre to be housed in the campus of Edinburgh University was announced by Scotland's First Minister Jack McConnell last week. The Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine (SCRM), to be headed by Professor Ian Wilmut, will be part of...
New research published in the Lancet medical journal last week shows a potential new way to identify people who have a higher risk of heart disease. Telomeres are the strands of DNA that cap and protect our chromosomes. They act as a kind of cellular clock...
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Patients want 'hybrid' embryo research to go ahead
by Nick Meade
The UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has announced a public consultation on the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos. Scientists want to use such embryos to create genetically human embryonic stem cells(ES cells). This method would overcome difficulties associated with the collection of human eggs from donors, and would...