How long will you live? Nobel winner claims new test can help
Scientists claim they have developed a blood test that can predict how fast a person is ageing. The test, developed in Spain, is set to be available in the UK soon....
News
UK Military Covenant: Promise of three IVF cycles for injured
UK military personnel who have sustained injuries affecting their fertility will receive three free cycles of IVF treatment on the NHS. This forms part of the Military Covenant, which is soon to be brought into law...
US court overturns block to stem cell funding
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has overturned a preliminary injunction banning federal spending on research involving human embryonic stem cells (hESC)...
German parliament to debate PGD bills
The German parliament will debate the country’s law on PGD following the introduction of three separate bills on the issue. Two of the bills allow PGD under certain circumstances, the other calls for a total ban....
Genes and depression, researchers find new region of interest
Scientists believe they have identified a new genetic link to severe depression....
Scientists uncover 'key gene' linked to regulation of body fat
Scientists say they have found a 'master regulator' gene, KLF14, which controls how active some fat metabolism genes are in your fat cells....
Stem cell setback: Reprogrammed stem cells may induce immune response
IPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells from mice can be recognised by their own immune system and destroyed, scientists at the University of California, San Diego, have found...
NHS South West Essex resumes IVF funding
NHS South West Essex has reinstated funding for IVF seven months after suspending the service. The move comes after the PCT reduced running costs by £400,000 last year to financially break even...
Canadian woman wins legal case to end donor anonymity in British Columbia
Anonymous egg and sperm donation will no longer be permitted in British Columbia (BC), Canada, after a donor-conceived woman, Olivia Pratten, took the provincial government to court to argue that its adoption laws discriminated against individuals such as herself....
Controversial stem cell centre closes
A controversial stem cell therapy center operating out of Dusseldorf and Cologne, Germany, has closed. The news follows an undercover investigation by the Sunday Telegraph which claimed that the clinic offered unproven and dangerous stem cell therapies....
Reviews
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts equipment used for embryo biopsy.
TV Review: Inside the Human Body - Creation
'Inside the Human Body' is the new science series playing out on BBC One at 9pm on Thursday evenings. It is a four-part series showing the workings of the human body and is presented by Michael Mosley. The first programme (broadcast on 5 May 2011) titled 'Creation' took the viewer on a spectacular journey to illustrate the science of conception, fetal development and birth...
Book Review: Human Cloning in the Media
Science's journey from fiction into reality is an adventurous ride. So I began to read 'Human Cloning in the Media', a book about how cloning is making this trip, with high expectations. The book examines 'the making of technoscience, the making (and policing) of an international scientific community and the making of publics who can appropriately engage with this technoscience'...
Comment
Will pharmacogenetics lead to colour-coded medicine?
by Dr Nishat Hyder-Rahman
'Will pharmacogenetics lead to colour-coded medicine?' was the question posed at the Progress Educational Trust (PET)'s panel discussion on 10 May 2011. This event, which is part of a wider project, 'Genes, ancestry and racial identity: Does it matter where your genes come from?' was held at the Foresight Centre, University of Liverpool...
Transferring single embryos: Education ain't enough
by Dr Alan Thornhill
When asked why having twins isn't a good idea, I struggle. I start trotting out the party line, the obstetric risks and risks to the babies themselves, and then begin to shuffle my feet. It's complicated, I say, hoping they will move onto another topic...