BioNews is published by the Progress Educational Trust a small UK registered charity which battles for funding to keep BioNews in operation and free of charge. Back in January we launched the 500 Fivers Appeal to coincide with the publication of...
A common genetic variant has been identified that may help explain why some mothers-to-be find it harder to quit smoking when pregnant than others. The research, carried out in the UK, is published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics. Smoking during pregnancy can cause many problems for...
The UK's Medical Research Council (MRC) has given three regional 'genetics hubs' over £7 million in funding so they can purchase the latest cutting-edge equipment which can read large amounts of DNA quickly, cheaply and accurately. The high-throughput sequencing (HTS) hubs will be created in Scotland, and...
The Chinese Ministry of Health is to introduce new regulations governing the use of stem cells in clinical therapies, according to the US journal Nature. They will come into force from 1 May 2009, and will place stem cell injections in the same Category 3 class of...
A report written by leading reproductive biologist Professor Richard Sharpe from the Medical Research Council in Edinburgh, UK, has called attention to the dangers of chemicals present in household consumer products. The report concludes that exposure to a cocktail of hormone disrupting chemicals in our environment, particularly...
Screening the genetic material present in patients' urine could distinguish between aggressive from dormant prostate cancers, suggests a study published this month in the British Journal of Cancer. The research paper reports pilot findings from 11 prostate cancer patients and may provide new hope for the 34,000...
The role of oestrogen as the primary female sex hormone, regulating both the menstrual cycle and the menopause, has been understood for nearly a century. However, a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describes a novel role for the hormone...
Chris Woodhead, the former UK Chief Inspector of Schools, has caused controversy by suggesting that middle-class children have 'better' genes when it comes to intellect and so will inevitably do better in school than children from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Speaking in an interview with the Guardian newspaper...
By Heidi Colleran: An international team lead by UK researchers at the Centre for Neurodegenerative Research (CNR) at Kings College, London, have discovered a genetic variation that prolongs survival in people affected with motor neuron disease (MND). In a study of over 5,000 people in six countries - almost half of...
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Comment
Tackling issues in cross-border reproductive care
by Professor Eric Blyth
What we currently know about cross-border reproductive services derives primarily from anecdotal patient accounts shared on the Internet and reports provided by journalists - often working 'undercover' and posing as patients. The nefarious character of some services under investigation, alleging illegal activities (1,2) and exploitation of young women as egg donors...