The UK's Nuffield Council on Bioethics has reported that direct-to-consumer personal genetic profiling services used to predict people's genetic susceptibility for common diseases, such as Parkinson's and diabetes, are often inconclusive, misleading and can potentially cause unnecessary anxiety, complacency or distress when no treatment is available...
Two men convicted of providing sperm over the internet without a licence have escaped a custodial sentence...
A healthy baby has been born from an embryo frozen for almost 20 years — the oldest frozen embryo to result in a live birth...
Former members of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) have spoken against proposals to axe the UK’s fertility watchdog...
A patient paralysed through spinal cord injury has become the first person to receive human embryonic stem (ES) cell treatment in a clinical trial being conducted in the United States...
Scientists from the GIANT (Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits) consortium have identified new genetic markers linked to body shape and obesity...
Two Spanish prisoners have reportedly received IVF treatment while in prison...
Twelve members of the Genomes Unzipped project have made their personal genetic data publicly available online. By sharing their genetic data, the project aims to guide discussion about the risks, benefits, and limitations of genetic information, and the issue of genetic privacy...
The Kids Are All Right is about the long-term committed lesbian relationship of Jules (Julianne Moore) and Nic (Annette Bening) and their relationship with their two teenage children, 18-year-old Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and 15-year-old Laser (Josh Hutcherson), one born to each mother using the same unknown sperm donor. There is nothing particularly unusual about this film to begin with. Both kids call their parents 'Mum' and behave towards them like normal teenagers, with a mixture of love and ...
Would you publish your genome? Last week, the 12-member Genomes Unzipped project published their direct-to-consumer genetic test results online. They say they're dispelling fears and encouraging discussion about what genetics means for society. But, in a Royal Institution debate on Thursday, Wellcome Trust Director Sir Mark Walport said openly disclosing their DNA would - like drunken Facebook party pictures - return to haunt them...
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Stem cell tourism - don't believe the hype
by Claire Bale and 1 others
Thousands of people with serious, long term health conditions are tempted abroad each year by untested stem cell treatments. Untested stem cell treatments for Parkinson's are available in several countries, including clinics in Germany and China. But the treatments are expensive - often many thousands of pounds - and come without any scientific evidence that they work and with real risks...
We need a code of practice for cross-border reproductive care
by Dr Françoise Shenfield1
Cross-border reproductive care is becoming more widespread, but is fraught with safety concerns. We at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) have no objection to patients seeking reproductive treatments outside their home country. But to protect patient safety, we believe there should be a Code of Practice (COP) to protect patients, donors and potential surrogates...