Will the public trust a single regulator for research?

In these uncertain times, a single regulator for research is one of the safer bets you might place....[Read More]

From principles to practice: the shifting regulatory landscape for consumer genetics

Earlier this month the UK's Human Genetics Commission (HGC) published a new document entitled 'A Common Framework of Principles for Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing Services' in a bid to define standards for this emergent sector...[Read More]

Wither the HFEA and the fate of donor registers?

The UK government's review of Arm's-Length Bodies (ALB) in the National Health Service has indicated that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has had its day as a free-standing regulatory body...[Read More]

Should doctors harvest eggs from a comatose woman?

A novel dilemma has arisen recently, recalling past debates over the removal of sperm from dead or dying men. However, the current case is a first, in that that it involves eggs, rather than sperm. Ultimately, the request was denied, but not necessarily for the right reasons...[Read More]

The demise of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority

The UK's new government plans to divide the responsibilities of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) between different existing organisations to reduce the cost and burden of regulation. This would see the end of the HFEA as we know it...[Read More]

Cord blood stem cell banking and the problem of promissory technologies in health care

The possibilities presented by the storage or 'banking' of stem cells from umbilical cord blood after birth have attracted considerable public and media interest since the early part of this decade...[Read More]

Is the glass half full or half empty? Debating the research on donor offspring: A reply to Blyth and Kramer's critique of 'My Daddy's Name is Donor'

It is challenging for researchers to study the offspring of sperm donation. There are not that many donor offspring in the general population, most of their parents have not told them the truth about their origins, and there are currently few available sources of funding for such inquiries...[Read More]

How not to save money: Unscrambling the HFEA

Of course we are all against unnecessary regulation: and one of the areas of policy put forward by the new coalition government which has seemed to attract widespread support, even from those who hold no brief for them, is the abolition of superfluous quangos....[Read More]

Don't agree? Let your fingers do the talking

In last month's BioNews (issue567) Professor Eric Blyth and Wendy Kramer criticised 'My Daddy's Name is Donor: A New Study of Young Adults Conceived Through Sperm Donation'. This week Elizabeth Marquardt, a coinvestigator on the study, responds. We would like to hear your views on this report and their ensuing disagreement... [Read More]

Why the MRC did not fund the first test-tube baby

In 1971, reproductive biologist Dr Robert Edwards and gynaecologist Mr Patrick Steptoe applied to the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) requesting funding for research into human in vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer. Their application was rejected...[Read More]

Use of acupuncture before and after embryo transfer

Sarah Guy's bold statement 'acupuncture does not increase the chance of IVF success' is based on the conclusions of a study which is arguably flawed in many ways...[Read More]

The demise of HFEA – Don't lament - or celebrate - too soon, it may never happen

In its quick review of Arms Length Bodies, published last week, the Government announced the HFEA would be disbanded. The news was welcomed by some, criticised by others and the HFEA put out a fairly terse statement...[Read More]

Celebrating 20 years of preimplantation genetic diagnosis

At the beginning of this month, following the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) annual meeting in Rome, a workshop was held to celebrate 20 years of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD)...[Read More]

CORRECTION: 'My Daddy's Name is Donor': Read with caution!

On 9 July 2010 we published a commentary written by Eric Blyth, Professor of Social Work at the University of Huddersfield, UK and Visiting Professor in the Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Wendy Kramer, co-founder of the US Donor Sibling Registry. The commentary was about a recent report co-authored by Elizabeth Marquardt, director of the Institute for American Values (IAV)'s Center for Marriage and Families, Norval D. Glenn, of the University of Te...[Read More]

Ten questions for Dr Julian Huppert MP

Before Dr Julian Huppert was elected MP for Cambridge in May this year, he was a computational biologist at Cambridge University studying the structure and function of DNA. Now, he's one of only two scientists with PhDs in parliament. BioNews quizzed him about science funding, synthetic biology and the shortage of scientists in politics...[Read More]

'My Daddy's Name is Donor': Read with caution!

The 'My Daddy's Name Is Donor' report is co-authored by Elizabeth Marquardt, director of the Institute for American Values (IAV)'s Center for Marriage and Families, who produced IAV's previous report highly critical of donor conception (1), Norval D. Glenn, of the University of Texas at Austin, and Karen Clark, of FamilyScholars.org, and published by the Commission on Parenthood's Future, a New York-based think tank, in association with the IAV, in May 2010...[Read More]

Is genetic discrimination fear of disability?

People with a genetic predisposition to health problems may experience prejudice from employers, prospective employers or insurers due to a perception that they will develop a condition that could seriously affect their work and life. But can present UK legislation protect them against this potentially discriminatory treatment given that it is based on perceived - not actual - disability?

The future of NHS funding for infertility services

When the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) was asked to produce a clinical guideline on infertility back in 2000, it was with the aim of creating fairer and faster access to services for patients. At that time, the vast majority of couples seeking treatment for infertility had to pay for it privately...[Read More]

BioNews welcomes a new genetics editor

This week we are welcoming Chris Chatterton as BioNews' new genetics editor. Chris has a degree in Biological Sciences from King's College, London, and an MA in Genetics, Culture and Society from Lancaster University. Chris is currently completing his PhD which is entitled 'Metabolic Syndrome: The construction of a group of risk factors into a new disease?'...[Read More]

The death of Denmark's public ART funding

Around two children in each Danish school class was conceived using some form of ART and Danish fertility clinics are involved in the birth of eight per cent of children born each year. So it is extremely troubling that the Government has chosen to play roulette with Danish fertility by introducing 100 per cent patient payment for ART in public clinics...[Read More]