By Raya Bidshahri
The Francis Crick institute has been granted permission to genetically modify leftover embryos from IVF clinics. This is not the first time that researchers have been given approval to modify embryos. In April 2015, a group of Chinese scientists were granted approval to modify the gene responsible for  β-thalassaemia, a potentially fatal blood disorder.
The research could contribute volumes of game-changing knowledge to science. The focus of the experiments, which are …

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By Ellen Arkfeld
Last year, Jennifer Duodna made headlines by developing CRISPR-cas9 technology, a genome-editing technique unprecedented in its precision, ease, and cost. With CRISPR, introducing a new gene to a genome is essentially as easy as mixing chemicals in a vial.
Josiah Zayner has taken this technology to the next level: all of this can be done in the comfort of your own home, and ordered for the reasonable price of …

Global Bioethics Initiative (GBI) is dedicated to fostering public awareness and understanding of bioethical issues, and to exploring solutions to bioethical challenges.
Through its events and activities, which include an annual Summer School on Global Bioethics, GBI seeks to keep the international community, policy decision-makers, the media, and the general public informed and aware of important bioethical issues. Such awareness is essential for making informed decisions and fostering public debate. Using various platforms, …

By Farzana Paleker
An advertising campaign recently launched in Belgium calls on creative types to donate their sperm and eggs in an effort to guarantee the country’s creative future. Creative Belgium, an organization that aims to improve creativity in advertising in Belgium, has teamed up with the Centre for Reproductive Medicine of Brussels and the advertising agency Air to tackle the declining interest in the advertising profession among young Belgians.
Belgium is home …

By Princess Chukwuneke
In a time where egg and sperm donations face rigorous screening, Simon Watson, 41, appears to have found a way around it.
Watson has been an unlicensed sperm donor for 16 years, claiming dual benevolence for his actions. On one hand, he hopes to save prospective mothers from paying exorbitant treatment prices at licensed fertility clinics, which could go up to £1000 per treatment cycle. He charges only £50. …

By Kaitlyn Schaeffer
Last year 30,973 transplants were performed in the US, setting a record for the procedure, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. This number represents nearly a 5% increase from 2014.
“This landmark achievement is a testament to the generosity of the American public to help others through donation, and their trust in the transplant system to honor their life-saving gift,” said Betsy Walsh, president of the Organ …

By Ellen Arkfeld
In a conventional In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment, zygotes develop in an incubator before they are implanted into a woman’s uterus. This incubator is designed to mimic the human body.  Recently, however, physicians developed an alternative method of incubation: instead of using an incubator, the zygotes grow in an INVOcell, a device that is actually inside the body. INVOcell was first used in Canada in February 2015, and was approved …

Wishing you good times, good cheer, and a memorable New Year, Global Bioethics Initiative invites students and professionals worldwide to attend bioethics summer programs in 2016! Partial Scholarships for participants residing in low-income countries & Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits are available. Please visit our summer school website and Apply Now! Global Bioethics Initiative (GBI) is dedicated to fostering public awareness and understanding of bioethical issues, and to exploring solutions to …

By Kaitlyn Schaeffer
Once upon a time, children could be conceived in only one way. But advances in medical technology have resulted in a number of ways for children to be born; one such method is via surrogacy. Surrogacy has provided a way for single parents or couples who are for some reason unable to conceive to have children. In cases where a surrogate bears a child for others, she is …