Donor lungs damaged before transplantation can be repaired using a gene therapy technique developed by a team of scientists in Canada. This may increase the supply of functional lungs for transplant patients, by using organs that are currently discarded....
US scientists have succeeded in creating early-stage sperm and egg cells from human embryonic stem cells (ES cells). By studying these artificially created sperm and eggs, the research team have identified three key genes that are involved in the development of these cells. The findings, published in the journal Nature, may one day lead to a cure for some causes of infertility....
Researchers from the University of Oxford and Copenhagen University Hospital have discovered a surprising link between the development of rare but benign testicular tumors and the genetic transmission of certain genetic diseases, such as achondroplasia (commonly known as dwarfism), Apert, Noonan and Costello syndromes, as well as some conditions causing stillbirth. The study, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Danish Cancer Society, and published in the journal Nature Genetics, could help e...
A mistake at one of London's top fertility clinics has resulted in more than 11 women being treated with genetically abnormal sperm, according to an exposé published in the Independent on Sunday newspaper this week. If passed on, the chromosomal abnormality carried by the sperm could have triggered miscarriages or resulted in the birth of a child with serious chromosomal disorder....
A study in the Netherlands has shown that lying down following artificial insemination, also known as intrauterine insemination (IUI), increases the chances of pregnancy by 50 per cent....
Transferring only one embryo during IVF treatment significantly reduces the risk of multiple births without considerably altering a woman's chances of conceiving and having a baby, report Swedish researchers....
Exposure to a combination of excessive stress and everyday chemicals whilst in the womb can have implications for future male fertility, according to Dr Amanda Drake and colleagues from the Centre for Cardiovascular Science and Reproductive Biology at the Queen's Medical Research Institute, University of Edinburgh....
US doctors have used gene therapy to restore significant vision in 12 patients who were previously blinded by a disease called Leber's congenital amaurosis. The study, conducted by researchers at the Children`s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, was published online in the Lancet on 24 October....
According to figures published in the British Medical Journal last week, the number of diagnoses of Down syndrome in babies and fetuses in England and Wales has risen by 71 per cent over the past 20 years. This is attributed to an increase in maternal age over this period. A concurrent increase in terminations of affected pregnancies as a result of improved prenatal screening methods has meant that numbers of live births with Down syndrome have fallen by one per cent, whereas they would have ...
The Labour party is urging the Scottish parliament to take action to standardise IVF provision across Scotland, after Labour MSP Jackie Baillie discovered wide disparities in provision between the 11 Scottish NHS boards. Ms Baillie contacted all of the boards after having been approached by a constituent who was upset about the length of IVF waiting lists where they lived....
Following new UK government guidelines on surrogacy published last month aimed at improving the rights of surrogacy patients, Ministers are now facing a new legal challenge calling for further changes in the law....
Clinical studies presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in the United States have shown that stem cells may be used effectively in the treatment of eye disease and other retinal damage. As reported by Science Daily, in separate trials researchers demonstrated that fetal cells and retinal precursor cells derived from embryonic stem cells and also those developed using iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells can help regenerate damaged areas of...
A South Korean court has convicted disgraced stem cell scientist, Hwang Woo-Suk, of embezzling funds and purchasing human eggs for research, after a trial lasting over three years. Hwang was given a two-year sentence suspended for three years by the Seoul Central District Court last week...
BBC 2, 27 October 2009...
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Comment
Moving surrogacy law forward? The Department of Health's consultation on parental orders
by Natalie Gamble and 1 others
Of all the prospective parents conceiving through assisted reproduction, those in surrogacy arrangements often face the most difficult legal issues. The surrogate and usually also her husband will be treated as the child's legal parents at birth, leaving the commissioning parents with no legal connection with their child whatsoever, even where both are the biological parents....