Debate Over Genetic Screening of Embryos as New Tests Emerge

As more families opt for pre-implantation genetic diagnosis to screen embryos for inherited diseases, determining the regulatory and ethical guidelines to govern such screenings is “proving difficult,” the Chicago Tribune reports. Although the field of embryonic testing initially focused on identifying genetic defects that are certain to cause suffering or death early in life, it [...]

Birth of first UK baby screened for genetic breast cancer

The first baby to be screened for alterations in the breast cancer-causing gene, BRCA1, was born last week. The child was at risk from inheriting the gene from her father, who has women in three generations of his family who have been diagnosed with breast caner in their twenties as a result of inheriting the [...]

No more Baby Manjis in India, draft law on Surrogacy ready

New laws to regulate assisted reproductive technology in India will be introduced to Parliament later this year. The text of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill 2008 was published last month by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for public comment. The bill aims to regulate surrogacy arrangements in the country where regulation is [...]

Applications of PCR

The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) has found widespread application in many areas of genetic analysis. This is a list of some of these applications:
1 Medical applications
2 Infectious disease applications
3 Forensic applications
4 Research applications
Medical applications
PCR has been applied to a large number of medical procedures:
The first application of PCR was for genetic testing, where a sample [...]

UK Couple to Test Embryos for high Cholesterol disorder

UK doctors are expected to receive permission to help a couple avoid passing on a hereditary condition that causes very high blood cholesterol to their children, according to the Times. The newspaper reports that a team lead by Paul Serhal, of University College London, will be granted a license by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology [...]

Couple suing over child selection “blunder”

 

An Australian couple has launched an action in the Supreme Court of Victoria against the health services involved in an embryo testing procedure, after the mother gave birth to a boy instead of a girl. The couple had undergone IVF and PGD (preimplantation genetic diagnosis) at Melbourne IVF to enable doctors to select only female [...]