By Evelyn Harvey: A new method for early detection of genetic diseases in unborn babies using a simple blood test can detect the inherited condition beta-thalassemia, according to a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Although the technique, which analyses cell free fetal DNA (cffDNA) present...
The Upper House of Victoria's Parliament has passed the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Bill by 20 votes to 18. The legislation will mean Victorian laws meet federal discrimination legislation by ensuring all women have equal access to fertility treatment. At present, lesbians and single parents have to travel...
A simple genetic screen will help you decide which sport your child is most suited to. That is the claim made by Atlas Sports Genetics (ASG), of Colorado, US, in the launch last week of their new genetic test. Although previously marketed in several other countries, this...
Research published by scientists at the US University of Rochester Medical Centre in the Journal of Tobacco Control reveals that women exposed to second-hand smoke as children or young adults have an increased likelihood of experiencing miscarriages or trouble conceiving. The research team studied 4,800 women treated...
The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has this week warned patients against unproven stem cell treatments being offered by rogue clinicians. The calls were made to governments to tighten their regulatory regimes to crack down on those exploiting the vulnerable with claims of revolutionary stem...
The susceptibility of patients to the placebo effect has been linked to a gene by researchers in Sweden. The findings, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, provide clues as to how some patients can respond to taking a placebo, usually a sugar pill, instead of the real...
A study undertaken in the US has revealed that fertility patients with frozen embryos in storage are unhappy with the options available in relation to embryo disposal. Anne Drapkin Lyerly MD, an obstetrician/gynaecologist and bioethicist at Duke University was lead investigator of the study published online...
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Comment
Fathers or donors? The legal position of friends who act as informal sperm donors
by Natalie Gamble
I read with interest the article in BioNews and reply commentary from Berenice Golding about the recent Vitabiotics survey finding that over half of women would consider asking a friend to father their child. As a solicitor who has represented many single women and lesbian couples conceiving with 'friends' as...
University College Cork becomes the first Irish university to regulate stem cell research
by Claire McDermott
University College Cork (UCC), one of the biggest universities in Ireland, recently released a press statement to the effect that they had passed a new code of practice which should be followed in the event of any researcher at the university wishing to carry out research on imported embryonic stem...