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BioNews aims to provide accurate, balanced and timely news and comment on genetics, assisted conception, embryo/stem cell research and related areas. 10 years after the publication was founded, its website and free email newsletter have been redeveloped and relaunched with generous support from the UK Government's Department of Health and the Wellcome Trust. The redeveloped website also has an RSS feed.

	TOP NEWS STORIES

UK's HTA warns of unlawful cord blood collections

11 March 2010 - by Dr Karen Devine

The UK's Human Tissue Authority (HTA) issued a press release this week warning of the dangers of collecting umbilical cord blood stem cells by those who are unqualified to do so. Cord blood is rich in stem cells that contain potentially powerful biological properties, which could be useful in the treatment of certain blood disorders and cancers, and may in the long term be used in regenerative medicine....[Read More]

US stem-cell therapy gets helping hand from FDA

08 March 2010 - by Harriet Vickers

A US company has been granted beneficial 'orphan drug' status by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an embryonic stem cell therapy it's developing to treat a rare form of blindness...[Read More]

Prison lifer wants fertility treatment

08 March 2010 - by Kyrillos Georgiadis

A drug dealer serving a life sentence is awaiting a Government decision on whether he can have artificial insemination, after being granted permission by prison bosses... [Read More]

	RECENT COMMENT

UK's HTA voices concerns about unlawful cord blood collection

12 March 2010 - by Dr Shaun Griffin

On Tuesday (9 March) the UK's Human Tissue Authority (HTA) took the unprecedented step of writing to more than 150 organisations to express our concerns that umbilical cord blood is being collected unlawfully, and that this activity may compromise safety and quality standards. Our letters were targeted at those we regulate, maternity units, professional bodies and others...[Read More]

Epigenetics in psychiatric disorders: A guide for beginners

12 March 2010 - by Sally Marlow

Mental health is a huge global concern, with one in four people experiencing some form of mental health problem at some point in their lives. Psychiatric disorders are sometimes difficult to study, as they are diagnosed on the basis of observed behaviours...[Read More]

Marked for life: Are genetic markers helpful in understanding psychological disorders?

08 March 2010 - by Sandy Starr

In their concluding remarks, all three speakers said the answer to the question implicit in the event's title - if you are genetically predisposed to a neurodevelopmental disorder, does this effectively mean you are marked for life? - is an emphatic 'no'. Nonetheless, they had divergent views on the likelihood of successfully applying the fruits of genetic research into mental health... [Read More]

	LATEST REVIEWS

Film Review: Extraordinary Measures

15 March 2010 - by Gabby Samuel

Extraordinary Measures is the story of the desperation of a father to find a drug to prolong the lives of his sick children, Megan and Patrick, who both have an incurable genetic condition with a life expectancy of nine years of age....[Read More]

Book Review: Marginalised Reproduction

08 March 2010 - by Sarah Norcross

When leading family researcher Professor Susan Golombok says a book is 'important and highly illuminating' and 'it should be read by everyone with a connection to the field', I thought I should add it to my 'to do' list...[Read More]

Exhibition Review: Identity: 8 Rooms, 9 Lives

01 March 2010 - by Gabby 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 various...[Read More]