The International HapMap Consortium, a public-private effort to identify and catalogue genetic similarities and differences in humans, this month unveiled its second-generation version of the human genome; a map three times more detailed than the original version released in 2005. The new map will help scientists to...
By MacKenna Roberts: A report by the Human Genome Research Project at Otago University commissioned by the New Zealand Law Foundation examines the issue of genetic testing and recommends that the laws, which currently allow testing in very limited situations, should be relaxed to allow its use for wider medical...
New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine has proposed funding of $450 million for stem cell research in the state. The measure, already passed in the Assembly by 50 votes to 27 and in the Senate 31 to 3, will be placed on the ballot box in time for...
The Council of Europe has issued a protocol setting out measures that would strictly limit the use of mail order and over-the-counter genetic tests, in a bid to circumvent potential ethical dilemmas. The guidelines stipulate that diagnostic, predictive, 'healthy carrier' and pharmacogenetic tests should only be employed...
The first babies in the UK to be conceived using in vitro maturation (IVM) techniques have been born. The Oxford Fertility Unit - the first clinic in the country to be given a licence to perform the procedure - announced the birth of the twin babies earlier this...
The largest genome-wide study of the genetic origins of Alzheimer's disease is set to begin, thanks to a £1.3 million grant from the UK's largest charity, the Wellcome Trust. The researchers in the study will look at DNA samples from 6,000 sufferers of late-onset Alzheimer's disease...
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Receiving genetic information from healthcare professionals: people's experiences and preferences
by Professor Peter Farndon
Knowledge of patients' experiences of and preferences for the provision of genetic information is an important step in ensuring that relevant healthcare professionals are equipped to address patients' needs and concerns. The NHS National Genetics Education and Development Centre has published a report outlining findings from a project which explored...