Issue 589 (20 December 2010)

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Progress Educational Trust conference - Cross-border reproductive care: a problem or a solution?

20 December 2010 - by Dr Aarathi Prasad

The final session of the Progress Education Trust's 'Passport to Parenthood' conference debated whether the facility to receive treatment outside of a patient's home country presents a genuine solution to meeting the growing demand for fertility care - or whether it generates new problems of its own.... [Read More]

Epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS)

20 December 2010 - by Dr Carolina Gemma and Dr Vardhman Rakyan

In recent years, significant progress has been made in identifying some of the genetic factors that underlie common complex diseases such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension and cancer. This has been possible due to the genome-wide association study (GWAS) approach that involves comparing genetic variants in large numbers of individuals that have the disease versus those that do not... [Read More]

Behaviour nurture not nature, says IVF children study

20 December 2010 - by Chris Chatterton

A long-term study following 1,000 families with children born using IVF between 1994 and 2002 in the UK and US has shown the importance of parenting in the outcome of a child's behaviour... [Read More]

'Fertility tourism' clinics urged to partner across borders

20 December 2010 - by MacKenna Roberts

European fertility clinics are being encouraged to collaborate and ensure fertility patients receive safe and fair access to treatment abroad, according to guidelines approved this month by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE)... [Read More]

Financial whizzkids could carry 'warrior gene' variant

20 December 2010 - by Dr Rachael Panizzo

A gene variant that has previously been linked to aggression and impulsiveness – the MAOA-L ‘warrior gene' variant – is also associated with shrewd financial decision-making, a new study claims... [Read More]

West Sussex PCT suspends IVF funding

20 December 2010 - by Kyrillos Georgiadis

West Sussex NHS trust is the latest NHS trust to suspend funding of fertility treatment as managers try to cut spending by 50 million. Now patients across the county face months of delays for treatment... [Read More]

Study finds genetic links to endometriosis

20 December 2010 - by Dr Jay Stone

An international team of scientists have identified new genetic variants that may help in the diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis.... [Read More]

BPA can affect egg quality, study claims

20 December 2010 - by Dr Lux Fatimathas

US researchers have shown a correlation between human egg quality and blood bisphenol A (BPA) levels. In a small-scale study women with higher blood BPA levels showed... [Read More]

Book Review: Rationality and the Genetic Challenge - Making People Better?

20 December 2010 - by Dr Amy Strange

'Rationality and the Genetic Challenge' addresses the moral issues and ethical debates surrounding recent advances in genetic science... [Read More]