UK considers plans to expand newborn screening programme
The UK National Screening Committee is considering plans to screen newborn babies for a greater number of rare conditions. Currently, on a newborn's fifth day, a single spot of blood is taken from their heel, and they are screened for five conditions including sickle-cell disorders (SCD) and cystic fibrosis (CF). Parents then receive the results of the tests around eight weeks later. This lags behind some areas of Europe where they test for 10 or more conditions, and some American states that...
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The new epigenetics
by Professor Marilyn Monk
All cells in the body have the same complement of 25000 genes, yet different cells in different specific tissues - such as nerve, muscle or gut - have different characteristics phenotype. It follows that different subpopulations of genes within cells of differing function must be active or silenced depending on requirements for function in a particular tissue. Obviously, there will be genes concerned with metabolism, growth, and cell division - the so-cal
Secrecy and the problems of nostalgia
by Dr Jennifer Speirs
Professor Lisa Jardine sounded tired. Contributing to a BBC Radio 4 Analysis programme on 26 October, the chair of the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) declared that she was 'positively nostalgic' for secrecy and discretion....