Lord Alton of Liverpool has attacked the Joint Committee report on the proposed Human Tissue and Embryos Bill, claiming that it 'misses the point'. His remarks are specifically aimed at the Bill's provision for human-animal hybrid embryo research, which the Committee has recommended be put to a...
Icelandic and Swedish scientists have discovered two common single letter variations (SNPs) in the sequence of the human genome that appear to account for 99 per cent of cases of exfoliative glaucoma (XFG). The scientists from deCODE genetics and colleagues from the National University Hospital in Rekjavik...
A survey conducted by the Infertility Network UK (I N UK) and sponsored by the UK Department of Health (DH) has shown that the provision of IVF treatment in the UK does not meet government guidelines. The survey indicated that provision of NHS fertility treatment is patchy...
A study carried out by a team of American researchers has revealed that not all embryonic stem (ES) cell lines are created equal. Led by UCLA's Yi Sun and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Thomas Sudhof at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, the study, which...
Proposed legislation geared to protect individuals in the US against genetic discrimination has been blocked by Senator Tom Coburn, who is concerned over it's 'lack of precision' and 'unintended consequences' if the bill becomes law. The Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act (GINA) would make it illegal for employers...
Mohammed Taranissi, reputed to be the world's richest fertility doctor, has been granted a temporary reprieve by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), in order that his appeal might be heard. Last month, Dr Taranissi, chief medical director of the Assisted Reproduction and Gynaecology Centre (ARGC...
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There's no such thing as a free egg
by Professor Anna Smajdor
Earlier this year, at the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) conference in Lyons, France, it was reported that Melanie Boivin, a Canadian woman, had decided to have her eggs surgically extracted and preserved for the later use of her daughter, who at this time was seven years...
Welfare and the need for a father
by Baroness Ruth Deech
The current legislation regarding IVF is under review. The issue that uncovered the deepest feelings in the evidence received by the parliamentary scrutiny committee is the rather mild provision in Section 13(5) of the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Act that 'a woman shall not be provided with...