Out-of-court settlement for girl conceived with abnormal donor sperm
A London fertility clinic has settled a claim over a 4-year-old girl who was born with a genetic defect after a mix-up in the sperm used in her conception...
News
Ireland publishes draft surrogacy legislation
The Irish Government has agreed to put forward proposals for a wide-ranging bill that features provisions on surrogacy and parenthood for consultation...
Medical experts question wisdom of expanding IVF access
Fertility experts have warned that IVF is overused and is too often recommended to couples who may not need it...
Pregnancy hope for womb transplant patient
A womb transplant recipient is set to become pregnant after doctors successfully transferred an embryo into the transplanted uterus. If the embryo embeds and the pregnancy is successful, the baby will become the first child born following a womb transplant....
Acid bath converts blood cells to stem cells
Stem cells have been created from mouse blood cells using a simple and quick method described as 'remarkable' by experts...
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
Autoimmune diseases may stem from Neanderthal genes
Genes linked with type 2 diabetes, Crohn's disease and even smoking addiction were acquired through interbreeding with Neanderthals, a study published in Nature suggests...
Israeli surrogacy crisis moves to resolution while Health Ministry supports law change for gay couples
Israel has issued its first passport to a baby born to a Thai surrogate, after the intended parents protested against the Government's refusal to grant the child Israeli citizenship...
Reviews
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Theatre review: How to be Immortal
This was a play about death; how people cope with it, how they grieve and how they remember. It was also a play about love and relationships, finding inspiration in unexpected places and also about science, genetics and the story of Henrietta Lacks' cells...
Comment
Changing perceptions, changing lives: commissioning fertility services in the age of austerity
by Mark Johnson
In 2011, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Infertility found that over 70 percent of NHS Primary Care Trusts were not providing the recommended three full cycles of IVF to eligible couples. Three years later, there has been a very real and very disappointing lack of progress...
How to make a mouse from scratch: a few drops of blood, one pinch of salt, and a drop of vinegar…
by Professor Dusko Ilic
This apparent witch's recipe is how a group of Japanese scientists have generated new mice: a remarkable finding that proves that true greatness lies in simplicity...