Issue 547 (01 March 2010)

Welcome to BioNews by email, the free weekly news digest of the top stories in assisted conception, genetics, embryo/stem cell research and related areas, published by the Progress Educational Trust. Sent to registered subscribers each week, BioNews by email is aimed at informing debate in these areas by providing balanced and timely summaries of the week's news and developments alongside comment, reviews and recommendations of selected topical conferences, events and more. It also contains job advertisements from the relevant sectors.

Visit the BioNews website at www.bionews.org.uk where you can subscribe for free to receive BioNews by email in one of three formats, plus view more news, comment, reviews and job advertisements and search the full archive.

Don't overstate the risks of drinking while pregnant

01 March 2010 - by Dr Colin Gavaghan

It is no surprise that the recently published research into the epigenetic effects of alcohol consumption during pregnancy has received considerable media attention. Practically all pregnant women will worry - understandably - about the health of their future children, and will quickly seize on information or reassurance from credible-seeming sources - a fact well recognised by our commercially-motivated press...[Read More]

Surrogacy behind the headlines

01 March 2010 - by Dr Elly Teman

Regulation is important, but we are not discussing the most fundamental issue at hand: the human experiences that make or break surrogacy relationships. What common factors can be identified behind the small number of surrogacy cases that wind up in court?...[Read More]

Second child born to ovarian transplant mother

01 March 2010 - by Ruth Pidsley

A Danish woman has become the first in the world to give birth for a second time following an ovarian transplant...[Read More]

IVF technique is overused, says its inventor

01 March 2010 - by Maren Urner

An IVF technique whereby fertilisation is achieved by injecting an individual sperm into an egg cell is being overused and may pass on infertility to the next generation, the scientist who developed the technique has warned...[Read More]

IVF linked to increased risk of stillbirth

01 March 2010 - by Sophie Pryor

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]

IVF less successful for Asian women, study finds

01 March 2010 - by Harriet Vickers

Researchers have found Asian-American women are less likely than white women to successfully have a baby through IVF, but were unable to pinpoint why...[Read More]

Stem cell policy proposal good news for US research

01 March 2010 - by Jay Stone

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has proposed a broader definition of 'human embryonic stem cell' (HES), which would allow Federal funding of research using cells at an early development stage....[Read More]

DNA tests for cancer promised

01 March 2010 - by Rose Palmer

A personalised blood test that could track how a tumour responds to treatment and whether cancer is recurring has been developed by researchers in the U.S...[Read More]

Doctors need training in genetics, says US scientist

01 March 2010 - by Dr Vivienne Raper

Doctors need to be trained in DNA-based medicine, the US scientist who led the Human Genome Project has told a scientific conference...[Read More]

Canada considers genetic discrimination law

01 March 2010 - by MacKenna Roberts

Canadians need better protection from genetic discrimination by insurers and employers, according to Winnipeg North MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis... [Read More]

Exhibition Review: Identity - Eight Rooms, Nine Lives

01 March 2010 - by Dr Gabrielle Samuel

Can you identify yourself? How? By your name, sex, religion, by what you do, or the relationships you form? These are the types of unenviable and arguably unanswerable questions the Wellcome Trust asks in its current Exhibition 8 Rooms, 9 Lives. The exhibition does not set out to answer questions about identity (and with good reason). However, wandering through the myriad of rooms the exhibition displays, through a series of individual life stories, brings to life at least some of the