A UK fertility centre has launched a scheme to provide women with cut-price IVF treatment in return for donating some of their eggs to research. The 'egg-sharing' initiative is being offered by the Newcastle NHS Fertility Centre and the North-East England Stem Cell Institute (Nesci) and will...
A team of researchers in the US has created human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines without destroying the embryos in the process. They hope these findings will change the legislation limiting federal funding for hESC research in the US. The scientists at Advanced Cell Technology (ACT), in...
The risk of developing breast cancer in women found to have mutations in their BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes may vary significantly, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last week. The researchers, based at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre, found that a...
Researchers from the Boston-based Autism Consortium have discovered a rare chromosomal abnormality reported to be 100 times more common in children with autism. The study, published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that in approximately 1 per cent of autism cases a small...
The potentially life-saving properties of cord blood stem cells, taken from the umbilical cords of newborn babies, has been highlighted by a UK politician this week. Conservative MP David Burrowes presented a 10-minute rule bill to Parliament on 8 January 2008, which requires doctors to inform...
In response to public concerns regarding hidden fertility treatment costs, the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has announced that IVF clinics must provide personalised, costed treatment plans from the outset of early consultations in order to be licensed. The mandate aims to assist patients to...
The Japanese scientist whose team was responsible for the breakthrough that enabled human skin cells to be reprogrammed to behave like stem cells, Shinya Yamanaka from Kyoto University, has estimated that stem cell treatments for some diseases could be as little as a decade away. Stem cells...
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Comment
Finding travel insurance that covers people with medical conditions
by Sean Worth
Last November, the UK's Genetics and Insurance Committee held a meeting on Family History, Genetics and Insurance, which included presentations providing advice to people with a serious medical condition on buying insurance. Following a recent BioNews Commentary on fair access to life insurance products, by Melissa Hillier of the Genetic...
Donor insemination in the post-anonymity world: one clinic's experiences
by Dr Kamal Ahuja
The consequences of the removal of anonymity for gamete donors in terms of quality and number have been a cause of concern to patients, clinics and policy makers in the UK. At the London Women's Clinic (LWC), donor insemination (DI) is an integral part of our life. We have the...