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Welcome to BioNews by email, the free weekly news digest of the top stories in assisted conception, genetics, embryo/stem cell research and related areas, published by the Progress Educational Trust. Sent to registered subscribers each week, BioNews by email is aimed at informing debate in these areas by providing balanced and timely summaries of the week's news and developments alongside comment, reviews and recommendations of selected topical conferences, events and more. It also contains job advertisements from the relevant sectors.
Visit the BioNews website at www.bionews.org.uk where you can subscribe for free to receive BioNews by email in one of three formats, plus view more news, comment, reviews and job advertisements and search the full archive.
| Cap on gamete donor expenses in the UK should be lifted, report recommends |
| 17 October 2011 - by Antony Blackburn-Starza |
| A report on the donation of human bodily material for medicine and research has made several recommendations including removing the current cap on egg and sperm donor expenses in the UK... [Read More] |
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| Black Death DNA puzzle no longer plagues scientists |
| 17 October 2011 - by Louisa Petchey |
| DNA extracted from the teeth of plague victims buried in London over 660 years ago has been used to reconstruct the genome of the bacteria that led to the Black Death. The study, carried out by a team of scientists from Canada and Germany, showed that the genetic make-up of this medieval bacteria has remained remarkably unchanged compared to modern day strains... [Read More] |
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| Female fertility may be improved by breast cancer risk gene |
| 17 October 2011 - by George Frodsham |
| A genetic mutation known to increase a woman's risk of cancer could also increase their fertility, research suggests. Women with mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, which are associated with a higher risk of breast and ovarian cancer, were found to have larger families when compared to control groups... [Read More] |
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| Gene mutation for liver disease corrected in human stem cells |
| 17 October 2011 - by Luciana Strait |
| Genetics and stem cell research have been combined for the first time to correct a genetic mutation associated with liver disease. This new approach could lead to people with a genetic disease being treated with their own cells.... [Read More] |
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| Sickle cell disease reversed in mice |
| 17 October 2011 - by Mehmet Fidanboylu |
| The blood condition sickle cell disease may be reversed by turning off a single gene, according to scientists in the USA. By inactivating a single gene in red blood cells the researchers were able to alleviate symptoms of the disease in mice, offering the hope of a potential new treatment for humans... [Read More] |
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| Nevada doctor pleads not guilty of stem cell scam |
| 17 October 2011 - by Jessica Ware |
| A US doctor accused of implanting stem cells into chronically ill patients pleaded not guilty at a court hearing on Thursday 13 October. Dr Ralph Conti, of Henderson, Nevada, has been accused of transplanting stem cells harvested from placental tissue into patients, at the direction of Alfred Sapse, who was falsely claiming to be a doctor.... [Read More] |
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| Women as young as 18 searching for sperm donors online |
| 17 October 2011 - by Dr Zara Mahmoud |
| Increasing numbers of women under the age of 25 are turning to sperm donors online, an investigation by the Sunday Times has shown. Many of these women have stable jobs and good support networks, and see no reason to wait before starting a family... [Read More] |
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| Fruit and veg keeps genetic risk of heart disease at bay |
| 17 October 2011 - by Dr Rebecca Robey |
| Eating high quantities of fresh fruit and vegetables can counterbalance the effects of having a genetic predisposition to heart disease, an international study has found... [Read More] |
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| House of Commons debates amendments to Public Bodies Bill |
| 14 October 2011 - by Sandy Starr |
| The future of the UK's fertility regulator has been debated by a House of Commons committee. An amendment to the Public Bodies Bill that, if passed, would have prevented the abolition of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), was proposed but ultimately withdrawn by Labour MP Valerie Vaz... [Read More] |
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| TV Review: Mixed Race Britain - How the World Got Mixed Up |
| 17 October 2011 - by Nishat Hyder |
| 'One of the very few universal laws of history is this: whenever and wherever people of different races have been brought together they have always mixed. For most of human history the power of sex managed to undermine the power of race'... [Read More] |
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| TV Review: Me, My Sex and I |
| 17 October 2011 - by Daniel Malynn |
| 'Me, My Sex and I' is a documentary about people who are born neither entirely male nor female. I must state at the outset that this programme is about the sex of the individual, and should not be confused with gender, which is how people identify themselves (something that many other TV reviews have got wrong in describing this programme). As the show makes clear, sex is not an 'either or' for many people; the real buzz word here is 'ambiguous'.... [Read More] |
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