Fertility chief to be carpeted over “designer baby” tests
The head of the UK's fertility authority, Suzi Leather, has been issued a "please explain" note by a House of Commons committee after she failed...
Spain approves embryo research
The Spanish government has announced that researchers will be allowed to create embryonic stem cells from IVF embryos, despite bitter opposition. "It is not ethical...
New method of creating embryonic stem cell lines
A Chicago IVF clinic has developed a new method of obtaining embryonic stem cells which some scientists say could bypass ethical objections. Yury Verlinsky, of...
Green light for older mums
The world's leading science journal, Nature, has declared that there is no place for "ageism" in reproductive medicine. In a special issue on human fertility,...
IVF expert backs rabbit-human embryos
Leading reproductive biologist Alan Trounson, of Monash University in Melbourne, says that hybrid rabbit-human embryos could be a useful source of embryonic stem cells to...
UN defers vote on cloning
Once again the United Nations has deferred a vote on an international cloning ban because of an apparently unbridgeable gap between supporters and opponents of...
Flu vaccine rationing raises ethical concerns
Americans are infuriated that a critical shortage of flu vaccine has hit just as they are preparing for the onset of winter. The flu strikes...
Scientists probing “therapeutic forgetting”
Could a tablet swallowed immediately after a terrible experience help you forget it? Scientists are working on drugs which might be able to prevent traumatic...
Nip ‘n tuck no key to happiness
British cosmetic surgeons have warned that their services will not save a marriage or change an unhappy life. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons...
Biologists clone monkey embryos
An American team has successfully cloned monkey embryos for the first time. Although the resulting pregnancies only last a month, reproductive biologist Gerald Schatten of...
India promoting medical tourism
Indian doctors are profiting from globalisation by offering high-quality, low-cost medical treatment for foreigners in posh private hospitals. A recent study by the consulting group...