Gene passed from father to son added to list of heart disease risks
A sixth of men have a genetic variant which could increase their risk of heart disease by up to 56 percent, according to a recent study...
News
Gene variant linked to common type of stroke
A genetic variant has been linked to an increased risk of a common type of stroke. Researchers identified an alteration in a gene called HDAC9 that is more common in people who have had an ischaemic stroke than in those who have not. The study also replicated variants previously associated with subtypes of ischaemic strokes...
Parkin gene researchers grow Parkinson's brain cells in lab
Human brain cells with Parkinson's disease have been successfully grown in a Petri dish, allowing researchers to study them in unprecedented detail. Researchers used a technique in which skin cells are transformed into induced pluripotent stem cells, which can then be made to change into any cell type — in this case, neurons...
Gene therapy successfully treats inherited blindness
Three women have reported a significant improvement in sight following gene therapy in both their eyes. Initially, they received the therapy in just one eye, but this latest study demonstrates the treatment was also successful in the other...
Cord blood stem cell clinical trial for hearing loss begins
US researchers have received approval to test whether cord blood stem cells could be used to reverse hearing loss in children...
Cut IVF multiple births to 10 percent, says HFEA
The rate of multiple births resulting from IVF treatment is to be no more than ten percent, announced the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority (HFEA), in the final stage of its policy to reduce IVF multiple birth rates in the UK....
Gingrich wants panel to look at IVF clinics
US Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has called for a commission to investigate the ethical issues around IVF. He also wants a ban on human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research, including research on donated embryos left over from IVF....
Gay man who donated sperm to lesbian ex-wife seeks parental access
The Court of Appeal in the UK is hearing a case in which a gay man is fighting for greater parental access to his two-year old son he fathered with his lesbian ex-wife...
Reviews
TV Review: Katie - The Science of Seeing Again
Following a brutal acid attack, Katie Piper has undergone 109 operations to rebuild her face, however it is the 110th that could change her life. By using pioneering stem cell treatment, Katie hopes to restore the sight to her badly damaged left eye...
Comment
Beyond the treatment of infertility
by Professor Mary Herbert
The advent of PGD extended the scope of IVF beyond the treatment of infertility. PGD is predominantly used to prevent transmission of genetic defects arising from mutations in nuclear DNA. However, it can also be used to reduce the risk of transmitting mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which cause a range of debilitating and life-threatening diseases...
Why we should back a law change to allow mitochondrial transfer into the clinic
by Dr Kristina Elvidge
Mitochondrial diseases are soon to be brought to the attention of the general public, as the Government seeks to gauge the attitude of the nation towards a ground-breaking IVF treatment that could prevent these conditions being passed from mother to child...