Women may soon be given the option of banking their ovarian tissue if a new clinic to offer the procedure opens in the UK. The technique allows women to freeze ovarian tissue containing eggs to use at a later date and could assist cancer patients and other women who hope to have children later in life....
Former shadow health secretary Mr John Healey has called for mothers of children conceived using a surrogate to be given equal maternity pay, leave and rights as other mothers. Currently mothers who use surrogates are entitled to 13 weeks unpaid leave, in contrast to mothers who adopt or conceive themselves, who are entitled to 52 weeks leave with 39 weeks maternity pay....
Ed Houben, a 42-year-old Dutch man has fathered at least 82 children by private sperm donation, mostly by having sex with his clients, news sources report...
Chemical alterations in a group of genes affect how we age, scientists have discovered. These changes switch genes on or off in response to diet or environmental factors throughout our lives. Researchers found that four genes that are epigentically switched off in later life may have a bearing on how well we age...
Two genes that influence brain size, and accordingly intelligence and possibly susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease, have been discovered by scientists...
Functioning hair follicles have been grown in hairless mice by researchers in Japan, offering hope of a future treatment for baldness and alopecia in humans. The study is the first to report creating viable hair follicles using human cells, according to Nature News....
Breast cancer can be reclassified into ten separate 'diseases' based on its genetic characteristics, according to scientists. Analysis of the DNA and RNA from almost 2,000 tumours identified ten genetically different subtypes of breast cancer with different survival outcomes. The information could be used to better predict the outcomes of the disease, as well as offer tailored treatment to patients...
Six new kinds of artificial genetic material have been created by scientists. These XNAs, or xeno-nucleic acids, have similar life-building properties to naturally-occurring DNA...
Epigenetics has become something of a hot topic in recent years throughout the scientific community. 'Epigenetics: Linking Genotype and Phenotype in Development and Evolution', edited by Professors Benedikt HallgrÃmsson and Brian Hall, reminds a new generation of molecular and systems biologists about the historical roots and scope of epigenetics...
How successful are scientists at engaging with filmmakers (be that directors, writers or producers)? This is what, through numerous examples, David Kirby sets out in his book 'Lab coats in Hollywood: Science, scientists, and cinema'...
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Comment
UK DonorLink: the service users' perspective on its uncertain future
by Rachel Pepa
On 8 March staff at UK DonorLink were informed that the Government would discontinue the charity's funding as of September this year. They were told that the voluntary contact register service it provides for adults conceived with, or who donated, sperm or eggs before August 1991 would be transferred to the National Gamete Donation Trust by means of a single tender process, meaning it would be combined with the promotion of donor conception....
Evaluating egg-sharing: new findings on old debates
by Dr Zeynep Gurtin
Until recently, there has been very little empirical data to inform debate about egg-sharing. However, new research changes this state of affairs...