Pregnant women confident in new blood test for Down's syndrome
Women are confident in and value a new non-invasive prenatal test for Down syndrome that is being trialled across a number of maternity clinics in the UK, a study reports...
by Siobhan Chan
Women are confident in and value a new non-invasive prenatal test for Down syndrome that is being trialled across a number of maternity clinics in the UK, a study reports...
by Siobhan Chan
Scientists have uncovered a gene linked to a rare disease that causes respiratory problems similar to cystic fibrosis...
by Rebecca Carr
Research conducted by the campaign group Fertility Fairness has uncovered significant variations in the amount that NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups are paying for one cycle of IVF treatment....
Mice engineered to carry a human version of the 'language gene' can learn to navigate a maze faster than normal mice. The study offers some insight into how humans evolved to produce and understand speech....
by James Brooks
A study where the tumour DNA of 16 prostate cancer patients was frequently checked suggests that, in some patients, commonly used anti-cancer drugs may actually boost tumour growth after a while...
A skin cancer drug designed to be effective in patients whose cancer is driven by a specific gene mutation has been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to treat patients with advanced melanoma...
by Jess Ware
The number of women in the UK being referred to breast cancer clinics doubled shortly after actress Angelina Jolie revealed she had a risk-reducing double mastectomy, a study has found....
by Chris Hardy
Schizophrenia might in fact be a group of related but distinct genetic disorders - a study has identified specific gene clusters that can be linked to eight clinically different types of the psychiatric illness...
Following a backbench debate in the House of Commons on mitochondrial donation on 1 September, BBC Radio 4 explored some of the issues raised by these high profile techniques aimed at preventing the transmission of mitochondrial disorders...
BioNews, published by the Progress Educational Trust (PET), provides news and comment on genetics, assisted conception, embryo/stem cell research and related areas.
Comment
Commissioning decisions reveal the trivialisation of infertility
by Vicky Whitehead
In the UK, clinical commissioners seem to view the national recommendations on fertility treatment as a sort of à la carte menu from which they can pick and choose; altering the definition of a cycle, the age requirements, the number of cycles available, and the access criteria at will...