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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.
| Changes to NICE fertility guideline for same-sex couples |
| 18 June 2012 - by James Taylor |
| As Britain's leading lesbian, gay and bisexual equality charity, Stonewall welcome the decision by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to update its fertility guidance to recognise recent changes in the law that will affect lesbian and bisexual women. The guidance, out to consultation, explicitly includes same-sex couples as an eligible group for fertility treatment... [Read More] |
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| Mitochondria in the media |
| 18 June 2012 - by Dr Geoff Watts |
| The Nuffield Council on Bioethics has published a new report: 'Novel techniques for the prevention of mitochondrial DNA disorders: an ethical review'. Dr Geoff Watts, chair of the working party that wrote it, offers some personal reflections on a few of its key conclusions... [Read More] |
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| Nuffield Council gives green light to the prevention of inherited mitochondrial disease |
| 12 June 2012 - by Antony Blackburn-Starza |
| The Nuffield Council on Bioethics has published a review of the ethical issues raised by proposed IVF techniques, which aim to prevent the transmission of faulty mtDNA from mother to child. The report concludes the techniques are ethically permissible, provided further research establishes their safety.... [Read More] |
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| Older dads may have children who live longer lives |
| 18 June 2012 - by Sarah Guy |
| Children born to men who delay fatherhood may live longer, a US study has shown. The findings indicate that as men age, the telomeres in sperm appear to lengthen, offering a protective effect against the cell aging process - a benefit which could be passed on to future generations... [Read More] |
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| Girl receives first ever transplant of stem cell-treated vein |
| 18 June 2012 - by Dr Lucy Freem |
| A ten-year-old Swedish girl has become the first recipient of a donor vein treated with a patient's own stem cells... [Read More] |
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| Genetic map of all microbes on, or in, our bodies published |
| 18 June 2012 - by Louisa Petchey |
| The most extensive catalogue of the trillions of microbes that live in and on humans - called the human microbiome - has been published by an international team of scientists... [Read More] |
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| Stroke patients improve in early fetal stem cell trial |
| 18 June 2012 - by Antony Blackburn-Starza |
| Stroke patients involved in an early stage clinical trial of a stem cell treatment in Scotland have shown signs of slight improvement.... [Read More] |
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| Alzheimer's gene linked to diabetes |
| 18 June 2012 - by Linda Wijlaars |
| A gene known to be found in many Alzheimer's patients has been linked to the way insulin is processed in the body. The finding could prove there is a link between Alzheimer's disease and type 2 diabetes, explaining why people with diabetes face a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's.... [Read More] |
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| Genetic test to assess 'racial purity' of Hungarian MP condemned |
| 18 June 2012 - by Ruth Retassie |
| Hungary's Medical Research Council has begun investigations into a company that provided a politician with a certificate characterising his 'racial purity'... [Read More] |
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| Smoking and drinking have little impact on sperm quality but wearing tight pants does, study finds |
| 18 June 2012 - by Helen Brooks |
| An unhealthy lifestyle may not affect sperm quality as much as previously thought. A study in the journal Human Reproduction indicates that smoking, high alcohol consumption and being overweight all have little effect on semen quality... [Read More] |
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| France: donor anonymity holds firm in court case |
| 18 June 2012 - by James Brooks |
| A French court has effectively reaffirmed the country's policy of gamete donor anonymity by rejecting a donor-conceived woman's demand for information on her biological father... [Read More] |
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