Brain cells made from skin cells, bypassing stem cell phase

Mouse skin cells have been converted directly into neural precursor cells which go on to form the major cells in the brain...[Read More]

TV Review: Holby City - Butterflies

In between the epidemic of 'will they, won't they?' relationships spreading throughout Holby City, the show dealt with the genetic disorder epidermolysis bullosa (EB)...[Read More]

Crystal ball gazing: human embryonic stem cells in 2012

In the last few months of 2011, a couple of stories on human embryonic stem cells hit the headlines. Both were bad news for stem cell researchers...[Read More]

Mice live up to three times longer after progenitor cell injections

Stem cell injections have been found to slow down the effects of aging in mice. Researchers have developed a stem cell treatment that significantly slows down aging and increases life span in mice with progeria, a rare genetic disease causing advanced aging...[Read More]

'High risk' prostate cancer gene found

A rare gene variant that could increase the risk of prostate cancer has been identified by researchers in the USA. Although the variant accounts for only a small fraction of all prostate cancers, the study found it was more common in men with an inherited form of the cancer and in those who are diagnosed before the age of 55...[Read More]

Gene therapy breakthrough for blood-clotting disease

Scientists have successfully used gene therapy to alleviate the symptoms of the blood disease haemophilia B in six human volunteers, raising hope for a potential cure. The study has been hailed as a landmark trial for gene therapy...[Read More]

Mouse study offers hope for treating leading genetic cause of infant death

Researchers have made a step forward in the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy, a serious genetic disorder, by using a stretch of RNA to trigger mice into producing a back-up version of a missing protein...[Read More]

Event Review: Field of Genes - DNA Testing to Find Future Olympic Champions

Would you let your 10-year-old child sit out of PE classes if they were not built for sport? Would it inspire you to do better if you found out your genes indicated that you're not likely to succeed at it? Or would it demoralise you to the point that you give up on something you love?...[Read More]

Progeria could be treated with existing drug

Progeria, an extremely rare genetic disease that is commonly used as model for ageing, could be treated with an existing drug...[Read More]

Gene therapy used in attempt to halt blindness

A British man has become the first person to receive an advanced gene therapy treatment in a bid to save his sight. Jonathan Wyatt, aged 63, is the first of 12 patients to have the experimental procedure to try and halt the progression of his genetic eye disorder, choroideraemia. While he still has some sight, if left untreated, he would eventually become blind...[Read More]

Aspirin cuts hereditary bowel cancer risk by 60 percent

Taking a daily aspirin has been recommended for people with a high risk of an inherited form of bowel cancer. Results published in The Lancet suggested the risk for those with Lynch syndrome could be cut by 63 percent...[Read More]

Safeguarding consent and confidentiality in clinical genetic practice

Suppose you have just had a genetic test for a condition that you suspect runs in your family. Aside from the possible implications for your own health, could – or should – your results be used to help to interpret tests done on other members of your family?...[Read More]

Racing ahead in the polls

Throughout 2011 the charity that publishes BioNews, the Progress Educational Trust, has been running a Wellcome Trust supported project entitled 'Genes, Ancestry and Racial Identity: Does It Matter Where Your Genes Come From?'. The project is now concluding with an online poll which we'd like to encourage all BioNews readers to complete...[Read More]

Book review: Ethical and Legal Requirements for Transnational Genetic Research

First, here is the bad news. Readers attracted by this title are in for a stormy and depressing journey. The writing, both in choice of language and sentence construction, is turgid. The problems of 'plain English' start in the six-page introduction, reach a low point in the ethical chapter and only improve slightly in the legal section...[Read More]

Reflections on the ethical debate surrounding non-invasive prenatal genetic diagnosis

An up-and-coming technology will soon allow genetic testing of a fetus with a simple maternal blood test early in the first trimester of the pregnancy by isolating cell-free fetal DNA in the mother's plasma. Currently, obtaining reliable diagnostic genetic information requires invasive testing with Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis. Both carry a risk of miscarriage and are performed between weeks 10 and 20 of the pregnancy...[Read More]

No immune system? No problem: Gene therapy found for 'bubble babies'

Over a dozen children with 'boy in bubble' syndrome are alive and well, with functioning immune systems, nine years after undergoing gene therapy to correct their disorder, researchers report....[Read More]

Fertility treatment in Germany

Germany is said to have one of the most restrictive legislation in the area of assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments. In contrast to the UK, both oocyte donation and surrogacy are prohibited by the Embryo Protection Act. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) has only become permissible as of July this year – it can now be carried out if the child will be born with a severe genetic disease, or if the embryo is so severely impaired that the pregnancy...[Read More]

Changes to PGD regulation in Victoria, Australia

The Australian state of Victoria was the first common law jurisdiction in the world to enact legislation to regulate assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs). Victoria's legislative framework has been updated a number of times and the most recent legislation (the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 2008 (Vic)) came into effect on 1 January 2010...[Read More]

Genetic flaw leaves no trace – mutation causing a lack of fingerprints identified

Imagine getting to immigration and struggling to get into a country, not because you don't have a passport or legal status, but because you have no fingerprints. People with adermatoglyphia, also known as 'immigration delay disease', have missing fingerprints from birth, and have reduced levels of sweat glands in their skin. Researchers now think they have isolated the genetic mutation behind this rare disorder....[Read More]

Event Review: The Age of Personalised Medicine - Genes, Privacy and Discrimination

'The age of personalised medicine: genes, privacy and discrimination?' was the last in BioCentre's 2010/2011 symposium series 'Revolution, Regulation and Responsibilities', and promised to 'appraise current developments and consider the current legal and regulatory position for their use before taking time to reflect and assess the future impact on society'...[Read More]