Issue 494 (09 February 2009)

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Social egg freezing: trouble ahead?

09 February 2009 - by Dr Jim Catt

With the gradual and continual improvement of cryopreservation techniques comes an increased demand for these services. An example of this would be the increased reliance on the cryopreservation of embryos to support elective single embryo transfer (eSET) programmes. There is a more controversial side to these improvements, however: perhaps the...[Read More]

Antibiotic increases risk of deafness in children with gene mutation

09 February 2009 - by Sarah Guy

Calls to screen all pregnant women to test their unborn child's sensitivity to a particular antibiotic have arisen after the results of a study show that its use could lead to permanent deafness. John Shanley, chief executive of Sparks, the medical charity which funded the study at...[Read More]

Longevity gene link confirmed in Europeans

09 February 2009 - by Rosie Beauchamp

A new study has found that the gene FOXO3A, previously linked to longevity in Japanese people, plays a similar role in Europeans who live to100 and beyond. The research, carried out at the Christian-Albrechts-University (CAU) in Kiel, compared DNA samples from 388 Germans aged 100 and over...[Read More]

Women warned not to freeze their eggs for social reasons

09 February 2009 - by Will Fletcher

The UK's Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the British Fertility Society have released a joint statement expressing serious concerns about women who freeze their eggs for non-medical reasons such as pursuit of their career. The success rate for pregnancies involving eggs that were frozen is...[Read More]

Cancer patients win lost sperm compensation claim

09 February 2009 - by Ben Jones

The UK's Court of Appeal has found in favour of six patients in a group of legal claims made over sperm donations lost due to a freezer breakdown at Southmead Hospital in 2003. The ruling comes after the case was heard by the appeal courts in November...[Read More]

Seeing sounds: a genetic link to synaesthesia

09 February 2009 - by Dr Charlotte Maden

A scientist who has synaesthesia and is leading research into the neurological condition has found a link to genetic regions in chromosomes. It is hoped that the work, published in the American Journal of Human Genetics last week, will help to improve understanding into cognitive development. Synaesthesia...[Read More]

Sunshine may help keep MS risk gene at bay

09 February 2009 - by Ailsa Stevens

Researchers from the UK and Canada have discovered a gene which increases the risk of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in people deficient in vitamin D - the so-called 'sunshine vitamin'. The study, published in the journal PLoS Genetics, may help to explain why MS is more common in countries...[Read More]

IVF drugs do not increase risk of ovarian cancer

09 February 2009 - by Katy Sinclair

Researchers at the Danish Cancer Society have ascertained that taking fertility drugs does not increase a woman's chance of developing ovarian cancer. The results of the study are published in the British Medical Journal. Allan Jensen and colleagues studied 54,362 women referred to fertility clinics between 1963...[Read More]