A decade of progress and misunderstandings

The 10th anniversary of the first draft of the human genome sequence has been characterised by justifiable celebration at the extraordinary progress in DNA sequencing technology, yet disappointment with the impact it has had on medicine to date. Is this disappointment also justified? Not really...[Read More]

Dialogue around cousin marriage is a positive step, but it must be based on fact not fiction

A report and analysis promoting Baroness Ruth Deech's views on cousin marriage, published in the Times newspaper on Saturday, makes some serious errors and does nothing to either clarify the true health impact of cousin marriage or help couples at risk of recessive genetic conditions...[Read More]

Research into the epigenetic impact of assisted conception

Readers will have noticed a couple of news reports and Rosalind John's excellent commentary on this topic in the last few weeks, but I make no apology for returning to the subject so soon. I believe this area of research will spark interest from the media for years to come. This is not because I fear research will necessarily uncover some unsuspected risk to the health of people born after IVF (in vitro fertilisation) (we can't know until we do the research) but because we are ...[Read More]

What role might epigenetics have in shaping a person's development?

Epigenetics is about the when and where of gene activity and about shaping development in response to early experience - from internal cues in the growing embryo to the prevailing physical and the social environment. So it is not surprising that discoveries in epigenetics are being enthusiastically embraced by those who find the fatalism often associated with classical genetics rather soul-destroying. But it is important not to overstate the case for epigenetics. DNA sequence, its vari

The medium is the message: assisted conception and the role of the media

The Medium is the Message' - a phrase coined by Marshal McLuhan in 1964 - implies that the type of presentation as much as the content of the message determines what gets incorporated into personal and societal views. This 'spin' element has and continues to be a significant component in the media...[Read More]

Reflecting on the role of PET and BioNews

We publish BioNews issue 450 as the new UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill heads from the Lords to the House of Commons. A lot has happened in the fields of human genetics, assisted reproduction and embryo research since BioNews 400, including the rejuvenation of PET! A year on, we...[Read More]

Reproducing regulation: new laws for fertility treatment and embryo research - will we get it right?

This conference (organised by the Progress Educational Trust (PET), held at the Institute of Child Health, London on 1 November) was extremely timely, given that the new Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Bill revising regulation of assisted reproduction and embryo research was published last week. This Bill is intended to...[Read More]

Reproducing regulation: issues arising from the Human Tissue and Embryos (Draft) Bill

A Parliamentary committee has recently challenged several proposals in the UK Government's draft revised legislation for assisted reproduction and embryo research, published earlier this year. These areas of biomedical research and personal reproductive decisions raise important ethical and social issues. As such, the committee report is welcome, because it re-opens...[Read More]

BioNews celebrates its 400th issue and Progress Educational Trust is revived

This is the 400th BioNews, a milestone that might never have been reached. Last year Progress Educational Trust (PET) was derailed by the vagaries of small charity fund-raising, staff fell below the critical mass of four and on 22 January the trustees announced that PET's activities would cease. This came...[Read More]

Putting genes in their place

The 50th anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA presents a golden opportunity to take stock of what impact this and subsequent discoveries in molecular genetics have had and what it promises for the future of human health and happiness. Genetics is now big business. Worldwide anniversary celebrations...[Read More]