Ontario couples fight for state-funded IVF

Sixty infertile couples protested on Canada's annual Family Day holiday against a lack of provincial government funding for IVF (in vitro fertilisation) treatment. The February rally was organised by the group Conceivable Dreams, which represents 1,100 infertile couples who say they are suffering because the government refuses to help them....[Read More]

US company offers parents home testing for inheritable genetic diseases

A company in the US is offering potential parents the chance to test whether their future offspring might develop serious health problems by selling them home genetic test kits. Counsyl allows customers to send a saliva sample via the post, which is used in conjunction with DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) chip technology to screen if the person is a carrier for a single genetic mutation known to cause a disease. If both parents carry the same mutation,...[Read More]

Frozen embryo court appeal lost

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Ireland has ruled that a woman may not use her frozen embryos after her estranged husband, whose sperm was used to create them, refused consent. Mary Roche, 43, and her husband Thomas had one child in 1997. They then turned to IVF (in vitro fertilisation) treatment at the SIMS Fertility Clinic in Rathgar, Dublin, which produced six embryos. Three of the embryos were implanted, resulting in the birth of one child. The other thr...[Read More]

China introduces new regulations for stem cell therapies

The Chinese Ministry of Health is to introduce new regulations governing the use of stem cells in clinical therapies, according to the US journal Nature. They will come into force from 1 May 2009, and will place stem cell injections in the same Category 3 class of...[Read More]

Fertility watchdog investigates serious IVF mix-ups at London hospital

Three couples undergoing IVF treatment at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, London, have had to have their embryos destroyed after the clinic used sperm from the wrong donor to fertilise the eggs. A spokesman for the clinic said that 'We identified potential problems with the eggs and...[Read More]

New stem cell treatment offers potential cure for blindness

Three people suffering from blindness in one eye have been given a new medical treatment to radically improve their eyesight by a team working at the Australian University of New South Wales. According to the journal Transplantation, the method involves taking 'limbal' stem cells from the patient's...[Read More]

US IVF clinic reverses decision to offer embryo tests for eye and hair colour

A US clinic, which offered to help prospective parents choose their IVF offspring on the basis of certain traits of physical appearance, has suspended its planned introduction of this service due to the criticism it recieved. A statement on the centre's website said: 'we remain sensitive to...[Read More]

Study finds gene variants that may affect cystic fibrosis severity

Variations in a gene called IFRD1, linked to activity of white blood cells called neutrophils, may be involved in the severity of symptoms for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) , according to a new US study published in Nature. CF is a life-limiting inherited disease in which the...[Read More]

New screening technique developed in UK clinic may improve IVF success rate

By Nadeem Shaikh:.A British fertility clinic has revealed they have developed a new method of screening eggs for IVF treatment. The CARE clinic in Nottingham, UK, has used the novel Comparative Genomic Hybridisation (CGH) method to assist a 41 year old woman to become pregnant. Currently, only one in...[Read More]

Gene mutation common in South Asians can increase risk of heart disease

A new multinational study, published in Nature Genetics has identified a gene mutation which may dramatically increase the risk of developing certain types of heart disease for 60 million South Asians. The study - led by Kumarasamy Thangaraj of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad...[Read More]