Event review: ESRC Genomics Network Conference 2013

Earlier this month, over 180 delegates and speakers gathered in London for the final annual conference of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Genomics Network (EGN). After a decade of support from the ESRC, the EGN will officially draw to a close at the end of May... [Read More]

Cancer treatment should be based on gene 'fingerprints', says study

Genetic analysis of tumours provides the key to treating them effectively, according to two studies carried out by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA).... [Read More]

Autism mechanism goes beyond genes

A study on identical twins with distinct autistic traits suggests that epigenetic factors may be important in understanding how the neurological disorder develops... [Read More]

The mother isn't always certain: Irish surrogacy case leads the way

Once upon a time, motherhood was certain. It was proved by giving birth. The Latin maxim 'mater semper certa est' that told us so was irrefutable. Whether or not that was ever actually true, it has for a long while been biologically, as well as socially, questionable.... [Read More]

Ireland: Genetic mother wins surrogacy case

The Irish High Court has ruled in a landmark case that a woman who is the genetic mother of twins born through a surrogate can be recognised as the legal mother of the children.... [Read More]

Policing preimplantation genetic diagnosis: patients first please

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority recently announced plans to review the list of approved inherited conditions for which preimplantation genetic diagnosis is currently licensed to ensure that it is only available for conditions which meet the statutory requirements in the UK... [Read More]

Event Review: Futures in Reproduction

In 2010, Professor Sir Robert Edwards was awarded a long overdue Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for his the part he played in pioneering both the theory and practice of IVF. This conference focused on the kind of cutting-edge research that takes Professor Edwards' legacy forward... [Read More]

Event Review: Masterpieces of Epigenetics - The Missing Link between Nature and Nurture

'Beautiful science' was how Dr Nessa Carey described epigenetics at the Biochemical Society Annual Symposium Public Lecture, held at the University of Leeds... [Read More]

Weighing up your options: the impact of weight and nutrition

I had a front row seat for session three of Progress Educational Trust's 2012 annual conference 'Fertility Treatment: A life-changing event?'. This session was entitled 'Weighing up your options: The impact of weight and nutrition'... [Read More]

TV Review: Dara O'Briain's Science Club

Have you ever wondered how to extract your own DNA? Or if there's a scientific theory behind what makes the most attractive partner? If so then Dara O'Briain's Science Club is the (only?) programme for you.... [Read More]

Ministers urged to use epigenetic research when tackling public health problems

Significant improvements could be made to public health by building upon the findings of epigenetic research, according to a leading expert on epigenetics and child health... [Read More]

Book Review: The Epigenetics Revolution - How Modern Biology is Rewriting Our Understanding of Genetics, Disease and Inheritance

In her new book, 'The Epigenetics Revolution', Nessa Carey argues that we are in the midst of the next great upheaval in biological thinking... [Read More]

Sperm precursor cells grown from skin sample

Stem cells found in human skin can be turned into sperm precursor cells, US researchers have found. The findings could help restore fertility to cancer patients, and could provide a new way of studying the development of sperm cells in the lab... [Read More]

Identical twins start to differ in the womb, study shows

Despite sharing the same womb, identical twins are born with different alterations to their DNA that can affect the activity of individual genes... [Read More]

Book Review: Future Human Evolution - Eugenics in the 21st Century

Back in my bar-tending days, we had as regular customers a small group of men who would spend the evening huddled around a table talking at volume about current affairs. We used to eavesdrop on their conversations: it was hard not to. For the most part, what they tended to say was robustly weird, with essays into the profoundly bizarre. Reading John Glad's 'Future Human Evolution', I couldn't help but think of them... [Read More]

Event Review: Twins - Identically Different

Epigenetics. What on earth is that? You're probably aware of the genetics vs environment debate can still divide people to this day, but epigenetics is something that we haven't quite got around to talking much about in the public sphere.... [Read More]

Gene modification helps mouse mum tolerate fetus

Immune rejection, the body's defence mechanism, triggered in response to foreign tissues, is a huge problem for transplant operations. But why does a mother's immune system not reject the developing fetus? The answer may lie in modifications to genes that usually activate part of the immune response, according to scientists... [Read More]

Switched off 'brake' gene increases pancreatic cancer risk

A gene that usually prevents excessive cell growth may be switched off in aggressive pancreatic cancers, scientists have reported... [Read More]

Event Review: Genomics in Society - Facts, Fictions and Cultures

The conference 'Genomics in Society: Facts, Fictions and Cultures' marked the 10th anniversary of the Economic and Social Research Council's Genomics Network, and also the passing of nearly ten years since the completion of the Human Genome Project... [Read More]

Book Review: Epigenetics - Linking Genotype and Phenotype in Development and Evolution

Epigenetics has become something of a hot topic in recent years throughout the scientific community. 'Epigenetics: Linking Genotype and Phenotype in Development and Evolution', edited by Professors Benedikt Hallgrímsson and Brian Hall, reminds a new generation of molecular and systems biologists about the historical roots and scope of epigenetics... [Read More]