A single gene mutation on the male Y-chromosome may have given Homo sapiens the gift of the gab, according to Professor Tim Crow of Oxford University. A single genetic change may have triggered changes in the way the brain 'wires up', eventually producing human language, he told the Observer newspaper...
The UK government's public consultation on genetic tests and insurance has sparked worries of a 'genetic underclass' in the British media. The Genetics and Insurance Committee (GAIC) has just completed a public consultation on the criteria it will use to evaluate the use of certain genetic tests for insurance purposes...
Fears that genetically-modified (GM) crops could spread antibiotic-resistance genes to bacteria may be unfounded, according to new findings reported in New Scientist last week. A team of researchers at Leeds University is studying a strain of GM maize with a gene that confers resistance to a commonly-used antibiotic, ampicillin. There...
The National Gamete Donation Trust (NGDT), a new charity that aims to address the national shortage of sperm, egg and embryo donors, was launched last Thursday. A newly-published report accompanied the launch. 'This report highlights the acute shortage of egg donors in particular but also the need for more sperm...
The Japanese government is expected to approve a new law later this month, banning human reproductive cloning but permitting research into therapeutic cloning, which uses cloned human embryos. Such experiments will be subject to strict guidelines, prohibiting the reimplantation into the womb of any human embryo clones. The law has...
The Human Genetics Commission (HGC) published a consultation document last week, to help identify its priority areas of work over the next two to three years. It suggests that legal protection of genetic information and the implementation of genetic testing should be among the key areas of its initial work...
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We need more egg and sperm donors
by Juliet Tizzard
Another infertility charity has been set up in the UK this week. But do we really need it? After all, in vitro fertilisation is in its twenties and there are already a number of patient, professional and public organisations working in the field. But this new infertility charity, the National...