Chemotherapy during pregnancy could affect daughters' fertility

A study has shown that the chemotherapy drug etoposide can affect the development of fetal ovarian tissue in mice... [Read More]

NIPT or not to NIPT – is that really the question?

A central tenet of prenatal testing is to promote reproductive autonomy by providing women with information that can assist in pregnancy management. Bringing NIPT into the NHS will improve an established screening programme... [Read More]

Event Review: Genetic Screening and Respect for Persons

Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is improving all the time, and the tests may soon be offered to all pregnant women on the NHS. This event explored how to ensure that prospective mothers are properly counselled to make informed decisions about their pregnancy... [Read More]

Judge condemns surrogacy 'market' and allows surrogate to keep baby

A surrogate has been allowed to keep a baby after refusing to hand the child over to the intended parents after birth... [Read More]

US Supreme Court blocks review of Sequenom patent appeal

The US Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal by the biotech company Sequenom against a ruling that its prenatal blood test was not patent eligible... [Read More]

Can women put motherhood on ice?

The Progress Educational Trust held its first-ever debate in Scotland – on the subject of egg freezing – which proved a lively topic of debate... [Read More]

Shock! Horror! Or business as usual?

As a long-time obstetric ringside observer, it seems to me that unnecessary and expensive treatments are de rigeur in the fertility industry, something that's haunted the field for decades... [Read More]

74 genes linked to education level, but effect is minimal

One of the largest-ever genetics studies in the social sciences has found 74 genetic variants that are associated with the amount of time an individual spends in education... [Read More]

CRISPR boosts cheap Zika test

Researchers have developed a quick and cheap 'paper-based' test that uses CRISPR to detect the Zika virus... [Read More]

Protein may help embryos stick to uterus

Researchers have identified a protein that may help developing embryos stick to the uterus... [Read More]

Reassurance for mothers over mosaic aneuploidy in CVS

Although our recent findings on the fate of aneuploid cells in mosaic embryos have indeed been somewhat misrepresented in the press, our findings may still constitute a strand of hope for mothers who have had early test results showing mosaic aneuploidy... [Read More]

Spanish lab creates human sperm precursors from skin cells

Spanish scientists say they have created rudimentary sperm-like cells from skin and bone marrow cells taken from adult males... [Read More]

Abnormal fetuses are highly unlikely to heal themselves

Press coverage of a recent study on mouse embryos speculates that termination of human pregnancies diagnosed with aneuploidy (a family of conditions including Down's syndrome) at prenatal diagnosis could be unnecessary, due to the ability of the fetus to 'heal itself'. In fact, the paper's findings are not relevant to aneuploidy detected at prenatal diagnosis... [Read More]

Identity, disability and the genome

My research on families living with the genetic disorder Spinal Muscular Atrophy calls into question some of the assumptions underlying the belief that genetic disease is, inherently and by its very definition, a trait to be avoided... [Read More]

Smoking during pregnancy alters fetal DNA

A large international study has revealed that smoking during pregnancy may chemically alter the DNA of the developing fetus... [Read More]

HFEA urges vigilance over Zika virus

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is recommending that people returning from Zika-virus prone areas should not try to conceive naturally, donate eggs or sperm, or proceed with fertility treatment for 28 days... [Read More]

Woman brings lawsuit for failing to detect carrier status

A woman is suing healthcare professionals in the USA for failing to detect that she was a carrier of cystic fibrosis... [Read More]

Painkillers during pregnancy reduce fertility of offspring in rats

Scientists have discovered that the use of painkillers during pregnancy in rats may reduce the fertility of their offspring... [Read More]

Prenatal test for Down's syndrome recommended for NHS

A new blood test for Down’s syndrome in high-risk women has been recommended for use on the NHS.... [Read More]

The ethics of changing the 14-day rule

At PET's recent conference, Professor Azim Surani claimed that permission to carry out experiments on embryos beyond the 14-day rule could make a huge difference to research. It may be time to review the ethical reasoning behind this time limit... [Read More]