Two UK scientists have developed a new technique for screening the genetic material of an early embryo, an advance they say could eventually lead to an improvement in IVF success rates. The study, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) last week, is published...
Ten UK women are reported to be pregnant following treatment with the male impotence drug Viagra, prescribed by their consultant Dr Mohammed Taranissi. But fertility expert Lord Robert Winston has expressed concerns over what he called a 'reprehensible and dangerous' treatment. 'It is extraordinary that he has been allowed to...
A team of US researchers has used gene therapy to successfully reverse Parkinson's disease-like symptoms in monkeys. The scientists, based at Rush Presbyterian-St Luke's Medical Centre in Chicago, published their findings in last week's Science. 'Our study suggests a new approach to forestall disease progression by delivering potent factors with...
Women cancer patients may soon be able to preserve their fertility whilst undergoing treatment for their illness, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) last week. A team of scientists based at the Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia has shown that...
Embryologist Paul Fielding was arrested last week in connection with the alleged embryo mix-up at two Hampshire fertility clinics. A police investigation was launched last month, after internal inspectors identified inconsistencies between the recording and storage of frozen embryos belonging to 39 couples. In a statement, police said: 'Hampshire Police...
The German government has approved a European Union (EU) directive on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions, a move seen as a significant step in the adoption of the directive across Europe. But a controversial clause concerning the patenting of human genes has lead many scientists and MPs to oppose...
The Singapore Genomics Programme (SGP) is to set up a nationwide medical database, which will combine personal medical data with samples of tissue, body fluid and DNA. Initially, the database will focus on patients affected by common conditions such as cancer, heart disease and stroke, reports last week's Nature. But...
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has published its first guidelines on biomedical research on human patients, reports the Lancet. They outlaw research on human cloning, germ-line gene therapy (genetic manipulation of egg, sperm or embryo cells) and xenotransplantation (animal to human organ transplants). The guidelines were issued following...
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Comment
GDesigner babies and assuming the worst
by Juliet Tizzard
Reproductive scientists must be used to it by now. They present a new development in human embryo screening to fellow scientists at a conference in a far away place and before they know it, the press back home have put it on the front page and branded it 'quality control...