A team of French scientists at the Necker Hospital, Paris, has successfully used gene therapy to treat two babies born with a life-threatening genetic condition that affects the immune system. Usually, babies with severe combined immune deficiency (SCID) X1 have to live in sterile 'bubbles' to avoid any infections. But...
Six cloned calves have cells that appear younger than their biological age, a US biotech firm reported in the current issue of Science. A team working at Advanced Cell Technologies (ACT) found that cells taken from the cows and grown in the laboratory have a lifespan increased by around 50...
A team of French, Spanish and Italian researchers has developed a new technique that may one day allow some infertile women to have their own genetic child. The new method, reported by the scientists in this month's issue of Human Reproduction, involves replacing the genetic information of a donor egg...
A new study of parents who have multiple births following fertility treatment has found that they are more at risk of physical and emotional problems than parents who have a single baby. The report, published in this month's issue of Human Fertility, looked at 54 families which had children following...
The Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP), a scheme to collect and analyse DNA samples representing the world's ethnic diversity, is fighting for its life, according to a news report in last week's Nature. A combination of political and public controversy has turned the ambitious international project into a set of...
BioNews, published by the Progress Educational Trust (PET), provides news and comment on genetics, assisted conception, embryo/stem cell research and related areas.
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The real issue behind egg fusion techniques
by Juliet Tizzard
A new reproductive technology is on the horizon. Egg fusion, described in this week's BioNews, could have a significant impact on the lives of many women who cannot currently conceive naturally. Apart from the women with fertility problems who might benefit from this technique, egg fusion could also be of...