“We’re not mad Frankensteins working away in our laboratories to create designer babies”

Professor Tony Rutherford
British Fertility Society

 
[BBC] A gene mapping test that can test embryos for almost any inherited disease could be available in the UK within a year, say researchers.
Unlike current tests doctors do not need to know the specific gene mutation involved.
At the same [...]

[WSJ Health Blog] Can a sperm bank be sued for selling sperm that causes a child to be born with a genetic disease? Yes, a federal judge has ruled. Here’s the opinion.
The case was brought on behalf of a 13-year-old girl with fragile X syndrome, a common inherited form of mental retardation.
While the judge dismissed [...]

AUSTRALIA has rallied behind the German-born doctor at the centre of a heartless Immigration decision to deny him and his family residency because their son has Down syndrome.
Herald Sun readers and people across Australia moved by the plight of Dr Bernhard Moeller and his son, Lukas, have protested. Premier John Brumby yesterday joined the [...]

[FoxNews] Their entire genetic sequences will be posted on the internet as part of the Personal Genome Project, a Harvard-based endeavor that aims to discover the genetic basis of hundreds of diseases, conditions and even personality quirks.
The best way to find that out, some scientists believe, is to put everything out there in the open [...]

Alabama state employees will be required to undergo obesity screenings, along with other medical screenings, starting in January 2009. Those found to be obese will be allotted one year to lose their weight or face a $25 increase in their monthly insurance premiums, reported WebMD (article below).  The bioethicist in me questions what the effects of this new requirement are on [...]

[NYT] Regulators are cracking down on companies that sell genetic tests directly to consumers, threatening to crimp the growth of one of the hottest sectors of the biotechnology industry.
The California Department of Public Health sent “cease and desist” letters to 13 genetic testing companies two weeks ago, telling them they could not solicit business from [...]

Sensitive information on about 1,000 patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other military hospitals was exposed in a security breach, sparking identity theft concerns and an investigation by the Army.
Names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and other information was released, hospital officials said Monday. The computer file that was breached did not include information [...]

Legislators yesterday shelved a plan to increase individual control over online medical records.
The measure had backers from both sides of the aisle in the House, but hospitals and medical associations opposed it. Debate raised questions over the measure’s unintended consequences and uncertain costs.
The bill would have allowed people to restrict access to their own records [...]

MPs are planning a change in the law to allow babies to be conceived from artificial sperm, a move described by opponents as playing God with human DNA.
A furious debate is building over how far to leave the door open to its use in IVF treatment, ahead of a Commons vote due shortly on the [...]

Google Inc. will begin storing the medical records of a few thousand people as it tests a long-awaited health service that’s likely to raise more concerns about the volume of sensitive information entrusted to the Internet search leader.The pilot project announced Thursday will involve 1,500 to 10,000 patients at the Cleveland Clinic who volunteered to [...]