Search
Google investigates the origins of autism
Calico, 23andMe, Google X… etc. - nothing seems to be able to stop the Internet giant: Google is continuing to collect DNA data en masse (Cf. Gènéthique 13/06/2014, and 29/10/2014 press reviews). The latest project? Decoding the...
The clue application – an alternative to the pill and intra-uterine device?
Ida Tin, a German lady, has always "been on the look-out for a mobile application to remind her of her imminent period". In 2013, she devised Clue - an application intended to forecast the start of a period and “to keep women better informed about how their cycle...
Axel Kahn: Down syndrome and the eugenic policy in Switzerland
Axel Kahn, doctor, geneticist and ethicist, was interviewed by the Swiss daily newspaper, Le Temps, on the subject of non-invasive prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, which has been authorised in Switzerland since 2012. Two manufacturers have submitted...
The British Court of Justice announces that unborn babies are organisms
Seven years ago, a young 19 year-old alcoholic woman gave birth to a little girl severely affected by foetal alcohol syndrome. The baby was suffering from growth retardation, facial anomalies, mental deficiency and other highly significant complications. Over the last...
iPS cells pave the way for the treatment of kidney failure
In a world first, a team of scientists at the Universities of Okayama and Kyorin have succeeded in recreating a nephron (the structural and functional unit of a kidney) in vitro, triggering urine formation using iPS technology. The cells were initially...
Japan – a pioneer of IPS cells
The Kobe Institute (Japan) is presenting the preliminary results of the one and only clinical trial in the world to use IPS cells. Ophthalmologist, Masayo Takahashi, explains that these are skin cells taken from patients suffering from age-related macular...
Hawking: artificial intelligence and an “end to humanity”
"I believe that the development of autonomous human intelligence could mean the end of humanity" declared famous astrophysicist, Stephen Hawking in an interview with the BBC. His announcement echoes the recent comments of Elon Musk (See Gènéthique...
China will terminate organ collection from executed prisoners in 2015
In response to concerns voiced by various international bodies on the subject of Human Rights, an official announcement was made this Thursday to the effect that China will be terminating organ collection from condemned prisoners. China is one of the countries...
When medicine investigates “near death experiences”
“Contrary to perception, death is not a specific moment, but a potentially reversible process”. This is how Doctor Sam Parnia of New York State University concluded a study (AWARE) aimed at the scientific analysis of conscious states and so-called “near death...
2nd wave of liberalisation of abortion in Luxembourg
Two years after the 2012 reform of Minister Biltgen, which liberalised the law of 1978 governing abortion, Luxembourg voted in a new reform on Tuesday afternoon by 38 votes to 22. This new reform authorises abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy, suppresses...
Roche invests in prenatal screening tests
Roche has announced the take-over of Arizona Diagnostics, Inc., a company based in San Jose (California, United States), which markets non-invasive prenatal tests. These blood tests are carried out from the 10th week of pregnancy in an attempt to diagnose the...
Banned in the United States, a genetic test developed by the 23 and me Company is authorised in the United Kingdom
In 2013, the American authorities (FDA - Food and Drug Administration) ordered the 23andMe Company to stop marketing DNA test kits advertised as capable of identifying (not diagnosing) the risks associated with certain diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, cystic...