The far-stretching reach of Mississippi's personhood amendment

On 8 November the Mississippi electorate voted against an amendment to the Bill of Rights in their state Constitution which would have redefined life as beginning at the moment of fertilisation – the so-called 'personhood amendment' (Proposition 26)...[Read More]

An embryo is not a person say Mississippi voters

Voters in the US state of Mississippi have voted against a proposed constitutional amendment that would have defined life as beginning at fertilisation. The proposed amendment would have afforded embryos and fetuses – whether conceived naturally or artificially - similar legal protection as that covering all US citizens but was rejected by over 55 per cent of voters on 8 November...[Read More]

Event Review: Playing God - Who Should Regulate Reproductive Medicine?

Should women who choose their career first, and children second, be allowed to receive IVF on the NHS at an age when some would consider it 'unnatural'? Now ask whether it's acceptable for young soldiers fighting in Afghanistan to store their sperm in case they don't come back. And the questions surrounding reproductive medicine don't end there: after insemination, how much screening or manipulation of genetic material is reasonable?...[Read More]

Breakthrough in stem cell research - world's first reprogrammed adult cell

US scientists have for the first time created 'personalised' human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) using a form of cloning. The result is a significant milestone on the route to using stem cell-based therapies but the researchers stress more work is to be done as genetic errors in the cells means they are not yet suitable for therapeutic use....[Read More]

Comic Review: How to Have a Baby - The Comic Book for Infertile Couples

The 744-page book covers the causes of infertility, imaging techniques, assisted reproductive techniques, surrogacy, donor gametes and adoption...[Read More]

Film Review: Stem Cell Revolutions - A Vision of the Future

The short film 'Stem Cell Revolutions: A Vision of the Future' uses interviews to document how stem cells have 'vitally changed our understanding of the human body'. The film opens with a voiceover by the film's celebrity commentator novelist Margaret Atwood: 'Sometimes it seems stem cells are proposed as the answer to everything... What can't they do?'...[Read More]

Book Review: Human Cloning in the Media

Science's journey from fiction into reality is an adventurous ride. So I began to read 'Human Cloning in the Media', a book about how cloning is making this trip, with high expectations. The book examines 'the making of technoscience, the making (and policing) of an international scientific community and the making of publics who can appropriately engage with this technoscience'...[Read More]

HFEA asks scientists for advice on mitochondrial disease treatment

Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley has asked the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to convene an expert group 'to assess the effectiveness and safety' of a fertility treatment that would enable children to be born without potentially devastating, incurable mitochondrial diseases.

Film Review: Never Let Me Go

Starring Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightley, Never Let Me Go is the film adaptation of the Booker Prize-nominated novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. The film is narrated by Kathy H (Carey Mulligan) who begins by reminiscing about her childhood at Halisham, a school for 'special pupils'. The audience is taken on a journey with Kathy as she remembers her experiences at Hailsham and her life after she leaves the school...[Read More]

Canadian parliament must act on assisted human reproduction

In the past three months, three members of the Board of Directors of Assisted Human Reproduction Canada (AHRC) have resigned. This set of resignations is cause for serious concern and requires urgent attention from the federal Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Parliament itself....[Read More]

Who are the real creators of a living being?

The announcement that scientists at the University of Newcastle have developed a new procedure that could eventually help women with dysfunctional mitochondria (the energy source of the cell), made headline news across the world...[Read More]

Book Review: Faith and Fertility - Attitudes Towards Reproductive Practices in Different Religions from Ancient to Modern Times

First as a reviewer of this book I have a declaration of interest (or lack thereof): I have no faith....[Read More]

Book Review: The Rough Guide to Genes and Cloning

This book does what it says on the tin: it is filled to the brim with information on genes and cloning. The authors have managed to treat the basics of the subject without dumbing it down, venturing into specialist areas such as laboratory techniques for cloning and behavioural genetics and explaining the associated jargon along the way, and exploring links with philosophy, culture and psychology...[Read More]

The HFE Act 2008 - an end or a beginning?

1 October 2009 marked the second and major phase of the coming into force of the amendments to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Act 1990 made by the HFE Act 2008. The first phase, in April 2009, concerned parenthood provisions and the third and final phase (expected April 2010), will affect parental orders in surrogacy arrangements. Even from a legal perspective it is unfortunate and rather baffling that these changes have been brought about by amending the original legislation...[Read More]

Disgraced Korean scientist faces four years in prison

Disgraced scientist, Hwang Woo-suk found last Monday that he faces a possible four year jail term for alleged embezzlement, and the violation of Korean bioethics law....[Read More]

Disgraced stem cell scientist to offer dog cloning services

US company BioArts International has teamed up with disgraced South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-Suk to offer dog cloning services to the public. Five dog owners will be given the opportunity to have their pet cloned in a worldwide auction on 18 June this year, where bidding will...[Read More]

Western Australia rejects cloning legislation

The Upper House of the state of Western Australia has voted against legislation to permit the cloning of human embryos for research and to also allow surplus embryos to be donated for medical research following IVF. The bill, which if passed would have brought the state in...[Read More]

Ohio considers anti-cloning measure

A measure which if passed will ban all forms of embryo cloning in the state of Ohio, including somatic cell nuclear transfer or so-called 'therapeutic cloning', is currently being debated by the Ohio Senate Judiciary Civil Justice Committee. The Committee has not yet voted on Senate Bill...[Read More]

Australian Capital Territory to debate cloning legislation

Legislation on human embryonic stem (ES) cell research and cloning is currently being debated by the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The proposal will remove the current ban on 'therapeutic' cloning and at the same time prohibit reproductive cloning, to bring the state in...[Read More]

'Therapeutic cloning' treats Parkinson's in mice

A study in Nature Medicine, by the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre Team, has reported the successful treatment of mice with Parkinson's disease using 'therapeutic cloning', giving hope that one day a similar treatment could treat people with the condition. In an important 'proof of concept' study for...[Read More]