A technique used to select IVF embryos most likely to implant and develop could actually reduce success rates, according to a study by Dutch researchers. Preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) involves removing a single cell from an IVF embryo and testing it for the presence of chromosome...
A study has found that women undertaking fertility treatment as well as complementary therapies were 30 per cent less likely to fall pregnant than women undertaking fertility treatment alone, raising concerns that some complementary therapies may be harming women's chances of becoming pregnant. The findings, by a...
Increasing numbers of people are travelling abroad for preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), according to the first study of the provision and regulation of PGD to encompass the whole of the European Union. The study was led by James Lawford Davies, a solicitor who also lectures in law...
A new genetic test, developed by the Icelandic based company deCODE Genetics, in collaboration with academic colleagues from Iceland, Sweden, the United States and China, may help with the early identification of people with atrial fibrillation (AF), a common heart abnormality characterised by momentary heart palpitations, and...
The first birth to result from a new technique, whereby immature eggs are matured in the laboratory and then frozen and stored for later use, was announced by Canadian researchers at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Lyon last week...
Scientists from Cornell University's Weill Medical College in the US have announced that they have created healthy adult mice from embryos fertilised using cloned sperm. The 'pseudosperm' cells were cloned using a similar method to that used to produce Dolly the sheep. It is suggested that sperm...
New research into the formation of early embryos (blastocysts) shows how multiple pregnancies resulting from IVF might be explained and reduced, even those where only a single embryo has been implanted. The research was led by Dianna Payne - visiting fellow at the Mio Fertility Clinic in Yonago...
Four leading stem cell researchers submitted declarations to the US Patent and Trademarks Office endorsing its preliminary decision to declare invalid three stem cell patents held by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) at the University of Wisconsin, where Dr James Thomson led a team in 1998...
Israeli scientists are reported to have extracted, matured and frozen eggs from young girls affected by cancer. Although it is too early to tell whether they are viable, it is hoped that the frozen eggs will one day offer young cancer patients the chance to have a...
A new gene variant has been found that leads to an increased risk of children developing asthma. A team at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London performed a 'genome-wide association' study, analysing 317,000 genetic variations (single nucleotide polymorphisms, SNPs) in 994 patients with childhood...
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Who should decide about embryo testing?
by Dr Jess Buxton
When the technology for testing IVF embryos for genetic mutations that cause disease was first developed over 15 years ago, its potential uses seemed pretty clear cut. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) provided a way in which couples at high risk of having a child affected by a genetic disorder could...