A protein active in immature pigment-producing skin cells could be responsible for hair colouring, according to US scientists. The findings about melanocyte stem cells (MSCs) may explain why hair turns grey and could provide insight into melanocyte-related diseases, such as melanoma...
Scientists have carried out a large genome-wide association study (GWAS) looking into SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) potentially associated with migraine and have discovered three new genes that may be associated with the condition...
Scientists have discovered a way to bypass the type of mutation that causes about a third of human genetic diseases. Experiments in yeast have shown how chemical modifications can allow a cell's machinery to ignore mistakes in DNA known as nonsense mutations...
US scientists have reported possibly the first example of using one person's genetic sequence to refine a diagnosis and provide personalised medical treatment. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) helped pinpoint defects in the DNA of 14-year-old fraternal twins Noah and Alexis Beery causing their rare neurological condition, dopamine-responsive dystonia (DRD)...
Female cheating may be a byproduct of genetic variants that promote cheating in males, according to a new study on zebra finches. Paired-up male finches who tried cheating with other females had the same genetic variants as female finches who were more prone to cheating....
In the first direct measure of new mutation rates in humans, researchers have found that when parents pass their genes down to their children an average of 60 mutations are introduced into the genetic code during the process...
Two clinical trials to test whether embryonic stem cells can treat two incurable eye disorders have been launched in the USA. Twenty-four patients will be treated during the trials at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)...
A British woman has agreed to donate her womb to her daughter if selected for an experimental womb transplant surgery to be performed by doctors at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden....
Arising from Dr Antoinette Rouvroy's doctoral research, Human Genes and Neoliberal Governance was originally published as a hardback in 2008, but has only recently become available in a paperback edition affordable to the general reader. In between those two dates much has happened in the field of genetics and governance, both globally and in the UK...
Stay up-to-date on all the latest developments in the fields of human fertility and genomics. And be the first to hear about upcoming events and other announcements.
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New telomere tests do not predict when you will die, but you may still want the information
by Dr Susan Kelly
The world of genetically predicted futures has recently been joined by a test for what is advertised as ‘biological age’. The test promises to provide information about the rate at which one is ageing — and knowing when you will die would make planning for the future so much easier!...
Missing the point? Human rights, prisoners and artificial insemination
by Dr Mary Yarwood
The anger generated by the knowledge that in the UK only one prisoner since 2007 has been granted access to artificial insemination (AI) shows there is very little public support for prisoners starting a family while behind bars...