Obituary: Stuart Andrews
Stuart Andrews, teacher of Medical Law and Ethics at the London School of Economics (LSE) and Queen Mary, University of London, died suddenly on Wednesday 28th July 2010...
News
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
Genetic factors important in survival after breast cancer, study shows
A UK study has revealed that breast cancer patients who have the POLQ gene are eight times more likely to suffer from recurrence after treatment compared to patients who do not carry the gene....
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
New genetic markers linked to breast cancer risk
A large prospective study has discovered new genetic variants associated with an increased risk of breast cancer....
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
Clinical trial for method to select fertile sperm
A sperm test that could help thousands of men who are infertile has been developed by UK and US scientists, according to The Times....
Scientists create regenerative cells from mouse cells
Regrowing human tissue is one step closer after scientists found manipulating two key proteins in mouse muscle cells enabled them to continue multiplying...
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
New technique will help scientists study abnormal testicles
Scientists have successfully grafted human testicle tissue into mice, allowing them to study for the first time how boys' testicles develop in the womb...
Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
New method to create mature egg cells discovered
Immature mouse eggs have been successfully matured and fertilised in the laboratory for the first time. Eggs from women undergoing cancer therapy were also successfully matured using the new method, offering hope for some women suffering infertility such as cancer patients made infertile by treatment...
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
Isle of Man 'halves' fertility treatment funding
Isle of Man couples wishing to undergo IVF will only have funds to complete one cycle of treatment following a review of fertility care, the Manx government has announced...
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
Certain plastics linked to male infertility, study shows
A chemical found in some common plastics may be linked to reduced fertility in men, according to a new report. A US study found that men with the highest levels of Bisphenol A (BPA) in their urine had a sperm count 23 per cent lower on average than those with the lowest BPA levels...
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
HGC publishes new report on direct-to-consumer genetic testing
The Human Genome Commission (HGC) has published a new ‘Common Framework of Principles’ for direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic tests on 4 August....
Reviews
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
Film Review: Splice
From watching the trailers for Splice, I thought the film centred on a genetic engineering experiment gone awry - mutants taking over the world and so on. Sadly not. At least if it had, it would be based on a storyline which - although tiresome - is proven to work. Not only that, but this horror of a horror film was far from scary...
Comment
Is the glass half full or half empty? Debating the research on donor offspring: A reply to Blyth and Kramer's critique of 'My Daddy's Name is Donor'
by Elizabeth Marquardt
It is challenging for researchers to study the offspring of sperm donation. There are not that many donor offspring in the general population, most of their parents have not told them the truth about their origins, and there are currently few available sources of funding for such inquiries...
Don't agree? Let your fingers do the talking
by Sarah Norcross
In last month's BioNews (issue567) Professor Eric Blyth and Wendy Kramer criticised 'My Daddy's Name is Donor: A New Study of Young Adults Conceived Through Sperm Donation'. This week Elizabeth Marquardt, a coinvestigator on the study, responds. We would like to hear your views on this report and their ensuing disagreement...
How not to save money: Unscrambling the HFEA
by Baroness Ruth Deech
Of course we are all against unnecessary regulation: and one of the areas of policy put forward by the new coalition government which has seemed to attract widespread support, even from those who hold no brief for them, is the abolition of superfluous quangos....