Two genes pinpointed as cause of diabetes in babies
Scientists have identified mutations in two genes that cause neonatal diabetes, a rare condition affecting around 1 in 100,000 births...
News
New York State launches genomic medicine project with $105 million
The New York State Governor, Andrew Cuomo, has announced a US$105 million partnership between the New York Genome Center (NYGC) and the University of Buffalo (UB) to accelerate genomic research in the region....
Male chromosome not dying out, say researchers
The human Y chromosome may have some use, after all. Experts previously thought that the chromosome containing 'male' genes was shrinking to the point of extinction...
Birth complications more likely in IVF babies
Babies born after fertility treatment could be twice as likely to suffer from complications such as low birth weight, premature birth and neonatal death, a large-scale study has found...
Fertility clinic worker's sperm swap uncovered by child's DIY gene test
A couple who used artificial insemination services at a Utah fertility clinic have found out that their daughter, Ashley, is in fact the genetic daughter of a former clinic worker...
Gene therapy promising in Parkinson's patients
Patients in a clinical trial to treat Parkinson's disease with a form of gene therapy have showed signs of significant improvements in their motor-function, according to a report published in the Lancet...
Reviews
Event Review: Student Ethics Conference
As the weather turned cold in December, the topics heated up at the Norwich Medical School for the Student Ethics Conference that focused on reproductive ethics and law...
Comment
The sperm harvest
by Professor Anna Smajdor
Dilemmas relating to the perimortem retrieval and posthumous use of sperm have featured in a number of recent BioNews articles. These cases show us how variable attitudes toward consent may be in different countries...
Progress Educational Trust conference: SET in stone - single embryo transfer policy
by Ruth Saunders
The last session of PET's annual conference tackled changes in the HFEA's attitude to single embryo transfer (SET) policy, following a recent successful legal challenge...