The bacterial infection Chlamydia may cause infertility in men as well as women, heard delegates at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Washington DC this week. A study of 143 infertile men, infected with Chlamydia and another common sexually transmitted disease (STD), mycoplasma, found that 35...
Last week a Florida court settled a custody battle in favour of surrogate mother, Stephanie Eckard, who will retain custody of her five-month-old daughter. Circuit Judge W. Gregg McCaulie ruled that any surrogacy agreement between the couple and Eckard had been previously terminated, and, beyond this, the...
The Australian state of Queensland has introduced legislation that makes cloning a human embryo lawful. The 'Research Involving Human Embryos and Prohibition of Human Cloning Amendment Bill 2007', which mirrors federal legislation and also that which was approved in Victoria and New South Wales, was passed by...
A group is being formed in Michigan to oppose the US state's current restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, which do not allow scientists to use embryos that have been left over after IVF. Michigan scientists are permitted to use ES cell lines obtained from other states...
Last week the Nobel Prize for Medicine was jointly awarded to three scientists for their pioneering work on embryonic stem cells in mice. The trio, comprising US scientists Mario R. Capecchi and Oliver Smithies, and UK scientist Martin J. Evans, developed a technique known as 'gene targeting...
A UK study, announced this week, aims to identify 20 genes involved in osteoarthritis (OA): the most common form of arthritis. Researchers are hopeful that their work will lead to a cheap diagnostic test and new targets for treatment for the disorder that currently has no cure...
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Comment
Funding for NHS genetic services in the UK
by Professor Frances Flinter
The Human Genetics Commission (HGC) is an independent body, which was established in 1999. Its role is to consider the ethical, social and legal implications of advances in human genetics, to listen to the public and to advise ministers on what, if anything, the government needs to do. The appointed...