The widow of a US soldier killed in Iraq has had her husband's sperm frozen in the hope of conceiving his children. Sergeant Dayne Darren Dhanoola, 26, and his wife Kynesha were allegedly going to start trying for children when he returned, but Sergeant Dhanoola was killed...
A US study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reported that brain scans of 12 Parkinson's patients treated with experimental gene therapy show that the treatment normalises brain function. A study published earlier this year reported that the symptoms of the same...
Two rival companies have launched novel genetic services which, for a price tag of $1000 (£483), will allow people to have their genomes scanned, delivering them personal information about their ancestry, some personal disease risks and other inherited traits. The first - called deCODEme - was launched by Icelandic...
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have had some success at transplanting adult stem cells into mice to create a new immune system, according to a study published in the journal Science last week. Although it may be many years before the research can be...
Two groups of scientists have managed to 'reprogramme' skin cells, retuning them to an embryonic-like state in which they regain the potential to develop into any type of body cell. The studies, published in the journals Cell and Science, pave the way for new research aimed...
Plans to remove the requirement that IVF clinics in the UK consider the 'the need of that child for a father' under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill have been heavily criticised in the House of Lords. The requirement is currently contained in section 13(5) of...
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Comment
Selecting children
by Dr Helen Watt
Prenatal tests, and selection of children, are deeply entrenched in our liberal culture: it is hard to subject them to a radical critique without attracting heavy disapproval. While it is socially acceptable to refer to prejudice against disabled people - and even to link this with pressures to screen - to challenge...