The end of the HFEA: Are we throwing the baby out with the bathwater?

'We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we began to form into teams we were reorganised. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganising. And a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralisation' - quoted by Professor Robin Lovell-Badge. The Progress Educational Trust and Anne Mclaren Memorial Fund organised a debate last week... [Read More]

Paying egg donors: a child at any price?

Should we pay women to become egg donors to tackle the 'mismatch' between supply and demand? This question was debated last week in an event organised by the Progress Educational Trust in partnership with the Royal Society of Medicine, supported by the National Gamete Donation Trust and the British Fertility Society (BFS)... [Read More]

Fat stem cells show promise against brain cancer in lab tests

Stem cells taken from patients' own fat tissue could potentially be used to deliver treatments direct to brain tumours, say scientists after early laboratory tests... [Read More]

US Supreme Court: Challenge to expand stem cell funding rejected

The US Supreme Court has declined to hear a final appeal seeking to challenge the legality of using public money to fund embryonic stem cell (hESC) research... [Read More]

Rights to maternity leave granted to parents through surrogacy

The right to maternity leave in the UK will be extended to parents of children born through surrogacy, under proposed changes to rules on parental leave recently announced by the Government.... [Read More]

Viable mouse eggs made from stem cells

A team of Japanese researchers has created mouse eggs from stem cells and has fertilised them using IVF to produce baby mice. It is the first time scientists have reported producing properly functioning eggs using this type of stem cell.... [Read More]

Obesity linked to abnormal eggs in women undergoing IVF

The eggs of women undergoing IVF are significantly more likely to contain chromosomal abnormalities if the woman is severely obese than eggs belonging to women who are of a healthy weight, a recent US study suggests... [Read More]

Romney's running mate generates media storm over positions on 'personhood' and IVF

Views held by Paul Ryan – the man chosen by US presidential hopeful Mitt Romney to be his running mate – that life begins at fertilisation have caused a media furore in North America.... [Read More]

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis for cancer risk during IVF is feasible, study indicates

It is now scientifically feasible to use preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) during IVF to screen embryos for genes associated with high cancer risk, scientists say... [Read More]

Older dads may have children who live longer lives

Children born to men who delay fatherhood may live longer, a US study has shown. The findings indicate that as men age, the telomeres in sperm appear to lengthen, offering a protective effect against the cell aging process - a benefit which could be passed on to future generations... [Read More]

Israel gives gay men the right to conceive children via a surrogate

Gay men should be allowed to use a surrogate to have children, an Israeli public health committee has recommended. It also suggested single women should be permitted to use a surrogate to conceive and favoured non-anonymous sperm donation.... [Read More]

DNA test for prostate cancer relapse shows promise

A DNA test for men with prostate cancer could indicate whether their cancer is likely to recur after treatment, and if so, how aggressively, say researchers from the University of Pittsburg School of Medicine, USA... [Read More]