Last week, BioNews reported that woman undergoing IVF have donated some of their eggs to stem cell research in return for cheaper treatment. Our article included the following: 'This has sparked much dissent amongst pro-life lobbies. Dr Callum MacKellar,director of the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics voiced concern that...
By Ailsa Taylor: A team of British researchers have identified a common genetic variation that can increase the risk of high cholesterol. The study, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, may help to explain why the same gene has previously been linked with increased chance of heart disease...
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) License Committee has granted two one-year licenses permitting scientists at Kings College London and Newcastle University to carry out research using human-animal embryos. Over the past 12 months the HFEA has been deliberating on whether the creation of embryos using...
A cheap but powerful genetic test that can identify men with a high risk of developing prostate cancer - the commonest form of cancer in males - could soon be available according to US researchers. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that the screening...
A report backed by cancer and fertility experts from Royal Colleges of Physicians, Radiologists, and Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, has highlighted that many patients left infertile by cancer treatment are being denied the NHS fertility treatments promised to them in national guidelines. The group said that a national...
Scientists at the California biotechnology company, Stemagen, announced last week that they had successfully cloned the world's first human embryos, created from adult male skin cells. Although British scientists cloned human embryos two years ago, this is the first time that scientists have managed to grow such...
The widely reported story of the twins separated at birth who, with their true biological origins unknown to them, later married, has led to a timely rekindling of the 'need for a father' debate in the UK. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Bill 2007 is currently...
Stay up-to-date on all the latest developments in the fields of human fertility and genomics. And be the first to hear about upcoming events and other announcements.
Comment
Why it should not be illegal to implant 'abnormal' embryos
by Heather Bradshaw
The draft Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, which will replace the 1990 HFE Act, will have its 3rd reading in the UK House of Lords shortly, before returning for its final Commons debate. The draft Bill has been criticised for allowing too much scope for 'designer babies' and for the...
Babies by design: the ethics of genetic choice
by Dr Ronald Green
Since the middle of 2007, three books have appeared exploring the ethical issues raised by human genetic self-modification and gene enhancement: Michael Sandel's The Case against Perfection (Harvard University Press), John Harris's Enhancing Evolution (Princeton University Press), and my own Babies by Design (Yale University Press). Sandel's book continues the...