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Families hope 'Frankenstein science' lobby will not stop gene cure for mitochondrial disease
Change to IVF rules could make Britain the first country to allow therapy to change DNA in embryosDeniz Safak was five years old when he first displayed symptoms of the disease that would later take his life. "He started being sick and had intense, stroke-like seizures," his mother, Ruth, recalled.Doctors were baffled by the boy's condition and it took months before a diagnosis was made. Ruth and her husband, Erdhal, were told that Deniz was suffering from mitochondrial disease, an incurable condition that is passed from mother to child and can often be fatal.Deniz's condition continued to worsen. By the time he died last ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - February 15, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Robin McKie Tags: Embryos IVF Genetics Children Biology News Health Medical research Society UK news The Observer Science Source Type: news

Stem cells: what happened to the radical breakthroughs?
Much was promised in the late 1990s, but the challenge of advances such as growing whole human organs has been difficult to deliverIt's 1998 and science is taking big strides. The first cloned mammal, Dolly the Sheep, has just had her first lamb; the first robotically assisted heart surgery has been completed; Furbys have hit the shelves. In a bold announcement, biomedical engineer Professor Michael Sefton declared that within 10 years, scientists would have grown an entire heart, fit for transplant. "We're shooting big," he said. "Our vision is that we'll be able to pop out a damaged heart and replace it as easily as you ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - August 10, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Simon Roach Tags: Biology Medical research Features Stem cells The Observer Science Source Type: news

What goes on when lightning strikes?
One lightning flash could run a whole power station – and there are 8 million strikes around the Earth every day. We still don't know what triggers the phenomenon, although a new theory proposes a role for cosmic raysA new theory from Russian researchers suggests that lightning may be a by-product of cosmic rays. Surprisingly, despite studying lightning for centuries, we are still not sure what triggers it.Divine attributionIn ancient times, the drama of thunder and lightning so clearly went beyond human scale that the phenomenon was handed wholesale to the gods. The Greeks had Zeus, the Romans Jupiter. At the head of th...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - May 25, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Brian Clegg Tags: Meteorology World news Natural disasters and extreme weather Features UK news The Observer Science Source Type: news