Geron Corporation, a California-based biotechnology company has bought the Scottish cloning technology that led to Dolly the sheep. It aims to marry the nuclear transfer technology of Dolly-style cloning with the Geron funded stem cell research published last year - with the aim of developing a way of producing cells and...
US scientists are working on a new form of gene therapy that targets the spinal cord in order to treat chronic pain. In the study, which is still at the animal testing stage, researchers used an adenovirus (similar to a cold virus) to deliver the beta-endorphin genes to the rats...
Last week's announcement that a Montreal-based biotechnology firm had successfully cloned three goats has rekindled concerns about human cloning in Canada. Despite the existence of a voluntary moratorium on human cloning, in late April the Canadian Health Minister Allan Rock announced the federal government's intention to introduce legislation criminalising certain...
The first British study of the emotional and social development of children born as a result of sperm or egg donation has found that the absence of genetic ties improves the well-being of all the family members. The research was carried out in the wake of the growing use of...
The health care technology group, Nycomed Amersham, has agreed to sell a 70 percent stake in its pharmaceuticals business for £275m to a new company backed by Nordic Capital, a venture capital group based in Norway. Nycomed aims to concentrate on more profitable hi-tech operations such as X-ray imaging agents...
Researchers have isolated an enzyme that protects sperm from attack by free-radicals, which Len Hall, Professor of Molecular Genetics at Bristol University, believes could be lacking in some infertile men. Scientists have long been intrigued by the finding that men whose partners were having difficulty conceiving often had a high...
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
Scientists need public support for cloned tissue therapies
by Juliet Tizzard
This week's BioNews reports on news that the American biotech company which funded last year's stem cell breakthrough has bought the commercial arm of the Roslin Institute. With the new acquisition, the Geron Corporation will now be able to marry the nuclear transfer technology developed at Roslin with the American...