A new genetic test that will help to tailor drugs to cancer patients' individual tumours has been successfully trialled in the US...
NHS Surrey will reinstate free IVF treatment on 1 April 2012, following a year's suspension to cut costs...
Voters in the US state of Mississippi have voted against a proposed constitutional amendment that would have defined life as beginning at fertilisation. The proposed amendment would have afforded embryos and fetuses — whether conceived naturally or artificially - similar legal protection as that covering all US citizens but was rejected by over 55 per cent of voters on 8 November...
A new technique to transform skin cells into immune cells has been used in the laboratory to hunt for and attack cancer, report scientists after a proof-of-principle study...
IVF using donated egg or sperm other than from a spouse will remain banned in Austria. This was the final decision made by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) on 3 November in the closing of the case SH and others v Austria....
A High Court in South Africa has set out guidelines for judicial approaches to surrogacy arrangements in light of new family law legislation which came into force last year....
Human embryonic stem cells have been used to treat a model of Parkinson's disease, rats and monkeys, pointing to a possible new way of treating the condition....
Mice that don't produce a certain protein in their fat cells do not develop type 2 diabetes despite an increase in weight, scientists report. In a separate study, the same research group also managed to double the physical performance of mice by removing the same protein from their muscle cells...
In what appears to be the end of a long running legal saga, a ruling by the UK's Supreme Court has found in favour of a patent for a gene and the protein sequence it encodes. Lawyers say that the ruling will make it easier to patent discoveries which do not have a clear demonstrated application, a result that will largely please the private bioscience industry but may alarm many who believe that human genes should not be patentable....
If you could design your child right down to the smallest detail, what characteristics would you pick? This is the choice that Dr and Mrs Klaesson face in Peter James' latest novel, when they visit Dr Dettore, a renegade scientist who offers couples designer babies...
Have you ever wondered how criminals are identified using their DNA, or how DNA paternity tests can prove whether a man is the father of a baby? Both are done using a technique called 'DNA fingerprinting' and the latest video in the Naked Scientists' scrapbook series explains neatly how this works....
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.
Comment
Marquardt's off the mark
by Susan Kane
I have no doubt that Elizabeth Marquardt's report reflects the feelings of the donor-conceived people that she studied. However, since true scientific study of donor-conceived people is not currently possible, her claims must be qualified....
Fertility clinics and their patients suffer from HFEA's (lack of) communication strategy
by Dr Sue Avery
The general public has been well informed about the HFEA's proposed changes in compensation for gamete donors. However, there has been no direct communication with licensed centres and no clear indication of when regulations will change. As a result we are having difficulty dealing with a wave of enthusiasm from potential donors...
Progress in the marketplace
by Sarah Norcross
This year the Progress Educational Trust decided to exhibit at the Fertility Show again. The Fertility Show is a popular consumer event aimed at those who want information or advice on fertility. But as such, it evokes mixed feelings...