France and Germany urge international cloning ban

The United Nations (UN) has come under pressure to ban reproductive cloning, after the French and German governments wrote to secretary general, Kofi Annan. The two countries have also circulated a draft resolution proposing a committee to draft the ban. The UN general assembly is due to meet in September...[Read More]

Reproductive cloning trial may start in November

Maverick gynaecologist, Severino Antinori, has told a British Sunday newspaper that he plans to start human reproductive cloning trials later this year. According to the report in the Sunday Times, eight British women and their partners have volunteered to take part in the trial. Antinori says he has a total...[Read More]

Scientists turn back cellular clock

Researchers at biotech firm PPL Therapeutics have managed to convert skin cells back into stem cells - the body's master cells, capable of growing into a wide range of tissues - and then into working heart cells. The experiments were carried out using cow cells grown in the laboratory, but PPL's UK...[Read More]

Dispute over human genome data

The publication of the first draft of the human genome sequence has been clouded by the ongoing dispute over data access. The disagreements between the public consortium and biotech firm Celera Genomics led to the publication of two different versions of the genome in rival journals, Science and Nature, last...[Read More]

Embryo stem cell research gets go-ahead

The UK's House of Lords has approved proposals that will allow scientists aiming to develop new disease treatments to carry out research on early human embryo cells. The upper house of parliament approved the changes to the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act by 212 votes to 92, a larger...[Read More]

Animal testing firm escapes closure

UK firm Huntingdon Life Sciences was saved from bankruptcy last week, after US investors stepped in with a rescue package for the beleaguered animal research company. Following a year of campaigning by animal rights protestors, HLS was on the brink of closure after the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) withdrew...[Read More]

Church of England backs embryo research

A briefing paper for the Church of England's Board for Social Responsibility describes the use of cloned early embryo cells for research into disease treatments as 'morally acceptable', according to the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. The paper was written by Canon Dr John Polkinghorne, chair of the board's science and medical...[Read More]

UK parents call for right to select donor siblings

Following the birth of Adam Nash in the US last week, several couples have approached UK fertility clinics to request embryo screening tests that would allow them to conceive babies that may save the lives of their older children. Jack and Lisa Nash used preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to ensure...[Read More]

US universities forge deals with genetics company

Three more US universities have signed up for access to Celera Genomic's gene databases, announced the US company last week. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, the University of Cincinnati and Ohio State University join Harvard and Vanderbilt University as academic subscribers to Celera's version of the human genome...[Read More]

Gene targeting used in sheep clones

Scientists at PPL Therapeutics have used gene targeting to produce cloned sheep with a precise genetic alteration. The UK biotech firm, which is the commercial offshoot of the institute that cloned Dolly the sheep, published their results in last week's Nature. Gene targeting allows researchers to add, replace or remove...[Read More]