Genetic test to improve breast cancer treatment

Scientists have developed a way to identify six key genes which, if faulty, can prevent particular chemotherapy drugs from working in patients with breast cancer. The findings bring cancer therapy one step closer to the promise of targeted treatments for patients, based on the genetic characteristics of their tumours....[Read More]

IVF linked to increased risk of stillbirth

Women who undergo fertility treatment are four times more likely to have a stillborn baby than those who conceive naturally or use other methods, according to a new study...[Read More]

Fresh fears over the promise of iPS cells

A new study has cast doubt over how useful human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells could be for research and the treatment of degenerative disease...[Read More]

Scientists set to tackle gene-doping in sport

Researchers have expressed concern about athlete's use of genetic tools in the 'next generation' of illegal doping, and have stressed the importance of developing reliable new detection tests to stop them. Writing in the journal Science, Theodore Friedmann and colleagues at the University of California warn that 'the time is right to look at how advances in genetics are affecting sport'. The authors highlight the dangers of using imperfect and 'highly risky' genetic techniques, which may have...[Read More]

US court to decide legal mother of surrogate baby boy

The Court of Appeals in Indiana, US, is to decide who is the legal mother of an 11-month old baby boy conceived by IVF (in vitro fertilisation) and born to a surrogate. The boy's genetic parents, known in court records as T.G. and V.G, are a married couple from northern Indiana. The birth mother is the wife's sister, who agreed to carry the baby for the couple. The boy's father's name is listed on his birth certificate but his mother's name will not be added unti...[Read More]

Household chemicals make it harder to conceive

Exposure to chemicals found in household objects such as furniture, carpets and electronic equipment increases the time taken to become pregnant, according to a study published online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Professor Kim Harley and colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) School of Public Health found that women with a higher blood concentration of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which have been used as flame retardants since the 1970s, too...[Read More]

Early cord blood trial points to treatment for blood disorders

Scientists in the US have developed a new technique for multiplying the small number of stem cells found in umbilical cord blood and have tested it on leukaemia patients for the first time. It is hoped that the new technique could ultimately remove the need for tissue-matched bone marrow transplants....[Read More]