Science News

In my last article, I discussed the early stages of embryonic development. In this article, I’m going to address how a fertilized egg can split into two embryos. Read the rest

On July 18, President Bush vetoed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, which passed the Senate with 63 votes to 37. It was the first time he’s used his veto power in his 6 years in office. Read the rest

In the Sept 2006 edition of Wired magazine, a 32 year old wants to put having kids on hold for the next few years to focus on her career. She asks whether she should consider freezing some eggs now rather than play the odds and hope for a healthy baby at 40. Wired’s response was the following: Read the rest

More older women are opting for fetal testing to ensure their babies won't have a congenital disease such as Down syndrome. Right now, the main way these genetic tests are done is by extracting some of the fetus' cells via amniocentesis - when the doctor uses a needle to draw fluid from the sac surrounding the fetus - or chorionic villus sampling - when the doctor takes a sampling of the placenta. However, both procedures have a 1-2% chance of ending in miscarriage. Read the rest

Last year, paleogeneticist Svante Paabo announced he was going to reconstruct the Neanderthal genome. Now, Paabo estimates he'll have a draft completed within two years. Read the rest

Author: Michael Bellomo
Publisher: AMACOM
Year Published: 2006
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Human stem cell research is a major hot button topic that divides the conservative and scientific communities. Religious conservatives see it as tampering with nature and even playing God. Scientists, on the other hand, see the potential to treat many of the life threatening diseases of our times - from heart disease and diabetes to Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Read the rest

Author: Ian Wilmut, Roger Highfield
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Year Published: 2006
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On July 5, 1996, Dolly, the first animal ever to have been cloned from an adult cell, was born under the watchful eyes of Ian Wilmut and his team of researchers at the Roslin Institute. Dolly's birth sparked all sorts of political and ethical concerns while providing hope that cloning might one day cure major illnesses like Parkinson's and diabetes. In After Dolly, Wilmut has teamed with award winning science journalist Roger Highfield to defend cloning and argue for continued scientific research. Read the rest