Is the unstoppable advance of therapeutic cloning in danger of grinding slowly to a halt? This week a bill authorizing it in Western Australia failed on a conscience vote in the upper house by a vote of 18 to 15, even though similar acts had been passed in Canberra and in NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland and the ACT. It could signal a major setback for supporters of destructive embryo research.

Significantly, this may have been the first… [+]

The superiority of induced pluripotent cells over embryonic stem cells is leaving scientists agog, according to a survey in the authoritative journal Nature Reports Stem Cells. Because the new cells do not pose the ethical and technical challenges of working with eggs and embryos, large numbers of researchers have leapt into the field. "The enthusiasm with which the highest-tier ES cell scientists have turned to reprogramming speaks volumes," says journalist Bruce Goldman.

Much like a new computer… [+]

Despite a squeaky-clean public image derived from its noble aim of curing the cureless, embryonic stem cell research is plagued by the same problems of infighting, poor oversight, conflicts of interest as other areas of research. And in the case of the world´s largest institute for stem cell research, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), they may be worse. In fact, the leading journal Nature has used its lead editorial to urge the CIRM to improve its governance.… [+]

The US has banned genetic discrimination by health insurers and employers. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, which sailed through both the House (414-1) and the Senate (95-0), prohibits health insurance companies from using genetic information to deny benefits or raise premiums. "This clears away what in many people´s mind had been a real cloud on the horizon," says Dr Francis S. Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute. "Families with a strong history of genetic disease will… [+]

Somewhat like Darwinism, neuroscience is a field which is being mined for all the answers to all the questions about what it means to be human. A plethora of new books and articles claims that morality is biologically based. One was reviewed recently in Science, "The Neuroscience of Fair Play: Why We (Usually) Follow the Golden Rule", by Donald W. Pfaff. The author aims to present a possible neural and genetic basis for the Golden Rule, not very successfully,… [+]

Do Jehovah Witnesses have it right after all? Most people think that their refusal to use blood transfusions for religious reasons borders on insanity. But now research has shown that more than half of blood transfusions do more harm than good, with patients facing as much as a six-fold danger of dying. The problem is not the risk of infections from contaminated blood, but the transfusion itself. "There is virtually no high-quality study in surgery, or intensive care or… [+]

Surrogate motherhood seems to have come of age, with the release of a Hollywood comedy, "Baby Mama", starring Tiny Fey and Amy Poehler. The consensus of reviews at Rotten Tomatoes that the film is "a lightweight, predictable comedy with strong performances." It reached #1 on its first weekend, with US$18.3 million in ticket sales. This suggests that Americans, at least, are becoming habituated to the concept of one woman paying another to carry a child. The plot draws together… [+]