Category Archives: Embryology

Embryology

Nearly a Quarter of Americans 21 To 50 Years Old to Consider Having Children if Fertility Treatments Are More Affordable, Says Fertility Access Survey…

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly a quarter of Americans 21 to 50 years old would consider having children if fertility treatments are more affordable, according to the Fertility Access Survey conducted by Engine Insights on behalf of Lane Fertility Institute.

The survey finds that 23 percent of Americans in this age range, who do not already have children living at home, would consider having kids if access to fertility treatments is more affordable, with more women (24 percent) than men (21 percent) saying so.

From an annual household income perspective, respondents who earn less than $100,000 (41 percent) are more likely than those who earn $100,000 or more (35 percent) to consider having children with more affordable access to fertility treatments.

Drilling down even further, 21 percent of American households that earn less than $50,000 a year would consider having kids with more affordable access to fertility treatments, compared with 20 percent of households earning $50,000 to $100,000 a year.

Looking at race, the survey finds that 22 percent of African Americans, compared with 18 percent of white survey respondents, would consider having children if they received affordable access to fertility treatments.

On another note, 31 percent of married respondents say they would think about having children with more affordable access to fertility treatments, versus only 20% of those who are not married.

"As more people wait until later in life to have children, the need for affordable access to fertility treatments is growing exponentially," says Danielle Lane, M.D., who specializes in fertility medicine at her San Francisco Bay Area-based practice, Lane Fertility Institute. "Fertility treatments shouldn't only be an option for the rich and those who have stellar health benefits. We need to provide solutions for people from all income levels, races and other socioeconomic factors that influence who receives access to fertility treatments.

"The moral imperative is on us, as medical professionals, to provide quality access to affordable fertility treatments for those who choose to maximize their career potential, or perhaps wait longer to meet the right partner, before starting their families. We never want finances to stand in the way of anyone pursuing their dream of having a family."

The Cost of Fertility Treatments

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is among the most common types of fertility treatments, which can range from $10,000 to $15,000 per cycle. Other treatments include receiving a donor egg that can cost $30,000 to $50,000, and egg freezing, which costs as much as $10,000 to provide women with access to their eggs later in life.

Dr. Lane says a couple of decades ago, it made sense that fertility treatments cost a lot more than the average person could afford since the technology and access to fertility doctors were still emerging.

"Today, fertility doctors and treatments are relatively mainstream, and yet the cost of access is prohibitive, particularly among lower-income households and people who do not have health plans that cover these treatments," Dr. Lane says.

Another cost-effective alternative to IVF is INVOcell, which is a medical grade device that develops embryos within a woman's body instead of an embryology lab. The treatment can be a fraction of the cost of traditional IVF.

Dr. Lane says "shared donor cycles" are also a way to minimize costs by allowing two or more separate sets of intended parents to share the costs involved with retrieving and utilizing eggs from an egg donor, providing access to half of the eggs for each set of intended parents.

"Understanding your options should be a priority when considering fertility treatments," Dr. Lane says. "Talking to your doctor about cost-effective solutions is critical to building your family if finances are a concern."

Fertility Access Survey Methodology

The Fertility Access Survey was conducted by ENGINE INSIGHTS among a sample of 692 adults 21 to 50 years of age who do not have any children under 18 living at home. The online omnibus study is conducted three times a week among a demographically representative U.S. sample. This survey was live the week of January 4, 2021.

To view the full survey results, please contact Evan Pondel at [emailprotected].

About Lane Fertility Institute

Lane Fertility Institute is a leading provider of fertility treatments focused on providing care and treatment uniquely tailored to meet the individual needs of patients. Led by Danielle Lane, M.D., and her tenured clinical team, the practice is committed to the success of its patients and providing cost-conscious care. With locations in San Francisco and Novato, California, Lane Fertility Institute provides a wide variety of treatments ranging from basic fertility care to the most advanced in vitro fertilization (IVF) technology. For more information, please visit http://lanefertilityinstitute.com.

Media Contact: Evan Pondel Triunfo Partners (818) 835-0677 [emailprotected]

SOURCE Lane Fertility Institute

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Nearly a Quarter of Americans 21 To 50 Years Old to Consider Having Children if Fertility Treatments Are More Affordable, Says Fertility Access Survey...

Embryology

TMRW Adds Three High Profile Hires To Its Senior Executive Team – PRNewswire

NEW YORK, Jan. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- TMRW Life Sciences("TMRW"), creator ofthe first and only automated technology platform for the management, identification, and storage of frozen eggs and embryos, announced todaythe recent hiring of Todd Ballard as Chief Marketing Officer; Rohit Gupta as SVP & Chief Biobank Officer; and, Gene Shkolnikov as SVP, Product.

With this exceptional trio, TMRW continues to strengthen its executive team as it prepares to announce acceleration into commercial operations.

Todd Ballardcomes to TMRW after a highly successful, 12 year tenure at GoPro. As Chief Marketing Officer, he directed the global marketing, brand development, and media vision for the $1B+ cutting-edge technology company. He joined GoPro when it was an early stage start-up, was instrumental in the company's IPO, and led its celebrated marketing involving annual budgets of more than $100 million and a dedicated team of over 140 people. Under Todd's leadership, GoPro invented an entirely new consumer category, elevating a camera company into a well-known lifestyle brand. Understanding the importance of fostering strong connections, he built relationships with hundreds of global celebrities, artists, producers/directors, and athletes. He also cut large business development and licensing deals with major broadcast networks and sports leagues, including NBC, Sports Illustrated, the NHL, MotoGP, Tour de France, PGA, and X Games, among others.

With a wide range of both B2B and B2C marketing experience, Todd's 25 years of expertise and entrepreneurial spirit will be pivotal to TMRW's success. As TMRW's CMO, Todd will develop and champion the marketing strategy, leading all aspects of product marketing and digital marketing, social media, as well as branding and PR.

Rohit Guptahas over 15 years of experience at the forefront of biobanking, data science, and research, earning him a well-deserved reputation as one of the elite biobanking experts in the world. He has a proven history of leadership in both cryo-management operations, innovation and research. Among his many accomplishments, Rohit was the Chief Biobank Officer at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) where he led that institution's landmark work to support cutting edge precision medicine research. His next generation approach to biobanking aimed at not only absolutely assuring the highest standards of care for specimens, but also at enabling cutting edge biomedical research. Earlier in his career, Rohit was the Executive Director, Stanford Biobank & Clinical Research Services at Stanford University,where he played a key role in supporting Stanford's entire medical research effort. His work was pivotal in securing over $100M in research grants at Stanford and UCSF. In addition to his biobanking roles, Rohit also recently served as Conference Co-Chairman of the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER), the global leading authority establishing standards, education, ethical principles, and innovation in the science and management of biorepositories. He has co-authored several industry publications and is the recipient of numerous honors, grants, and awards, and is a sought-after speaker and lecturer at global industry events.

As TMRW's SVP & Chief Biobank Officer, Rohit will focus on building on TMRW's commitment to the highest levels of operational excellence, particularly as it relates to the cryo-management aspects of caring for the human eggs and embryos in the TMRW platform. In addition, he will be deeply involved in TMRW's continued innovation including product/technology, data collection, privacy, and integration efforts, government and regulatory affairs activities and peer reviewed research studies.

Gene Shkolnikovjoins TMRW from Johnson & Johnson, where he built and led a large, global engineering team responsible for building and launching innovative Internet of Things ("IoT") platforms as part of a global digital business transformation. His work led to multiple new product lines spanning the Pharma R&D, medical device, and manufacturing sectors. Additionally, Gene collaborated across the organization on big data strategy, including analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. He holds several patents, having created breakthrough products in the mobile, IoT, healthcare, and wearable technology sectors. Highly skilled in operating at the forefront of emerging technologies and transforming them into innovative products and solutions, over the course of his career at both J&J and as an independent entrepreneur, Gene has built teams from the ground up, raised capital, become an industry leader, and launched award-winning products resulting in licensing deals with Fortune 500 clients.

As TMRW's SVP of Product, Gene will lead the development of all TMRW hardware, labware, and sensors.

"The simultaneous appointment of these three key executives, all proven leaders in their respective fields, speaks to TMRW's commitment to bringing together world class talent from diverse fields to make the management and storage of the frozen eggs and embryos that will be used in hundreds of millions of IVF procedures truly safe, secure, and reliable," says Joshua Abram, Founder and co-CEO of TMRW.

In the past year, TMRW has doubled its headcount. Launching commercially in late January, the company is poised to continue its exponential growth in the coming months. By the end of 2021, TMRW will be used in clinics accounting for more than 30% of all IVF cycles in the U.S. The company anticipates launching internationally in summer 2021.

About TMRW Life Sciences, Inc.TMRW has created the world's first automated platform designed specifically for cryo-management of eggs and embryos used in IVF. TMRW's RFID-enabled, complete digital chain of custody SaaS technology radically improves upon the error-prone manual and analog methods that have gone unchanged throughout the history of IVF, significantly reducing the chances of implantation mix-ups or loss of eggs and embryos. The TMRW team includes many of the world's most celebrated innovators in fertility, embryology, cryo-management, automation, software development and robotics to name a few of the disciplines involved. TMRW's co-founders, Joshua Abram, Alan Murray, and Dr. Jeffrey Port, are serial tech and life sciences entrepreneurs. Their immediate prior ventures sold for a combined sum of more than $1 billion. To date, TMRW has raised $50 million. For more information, please visit TMRW.org.

Media ContactEmily Grosser, Dini von Mueffling Communications[emailprotected] 757-645-5190

SOURCE TMRW Life Sciences

http://www.tmrw.org

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TMRW Adds Three High Profile Hires To Its Senior Executive Team - PRNewswire

Embryology

The legal position of international surrogacy in England and Italy and the recognition of foreign parental orders – Lexology

In this blog, Connie Atkinson, Partner at Kingsley Napley, and Veronica Dindo, Solicitor at LawLab Studio Legale, look at the legal position in England & Wales and Italy and the recognition of foreign orders relating to the birth of children born following a surrogacy arrangement abroad.

Surrogacy in England and Wales by Connie Atkinson

The majority of parents we advise who have had a child using a surrogate have an international connection. One or both of the parents may have been born, or now live, abroad and/or the surrogacy arrangement may have taken place abroad. One of the questions I am regularly asked by parents is whether the legal position in either the country in which the child is born or the country in which the parents live is recognised in England. My answer is always no. There is currently no international convention on the recognition of laws relating to surrogacy arrangements and the ability to draft such a convention is likely to be difficult as surrogacy is viewed and treated so differently across the globe. England and Wales does not recognise the legal position in other countries even where surrogacy is a mature and well regulated practice.

In England and Wales, if a child is born following a surrogacy arrangement either here or abroad, the surrogate will be the legal mother (whether or not she is genetically related to the child) and her husband, if she is married, will be the legal father. This is the case no matter what the position is in the country in which the child is born. If the surrogate is not married, the biological father of the child may be considered the legal father under English law but he will not necessarily have parental responsibility (PR) for the child.

In order to extinguish the surrogates and her husbands PR and legal parentage, intended parents must currently make an application to the English court for a parental order (PO), which will formally recognise the intended parents as the legal parents under English law. In the case of an unmarried surrogate where the intended father is genetically related to the child, a PO is still required to extinguish the surrogates legal parentage, to give the intended mother or second intended parent legal parentage and, in the case of children born abroad, to give both intended parents PR.

In order to be eligible to make a PO, parents must meet the criteria set out in section 54 (for two applicants) and section 54A (for one applicant) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (s54 criteria).

Surrogacy in Italy - Veronica Dindo

In Italy, surrogacy practices are explicitly prohibited. In fact, anyone who creates, organises or advertises surrogacy commits an offense of criminal relevance (Article 12 paragraph 6 of Law 40/2004).

However, since surrogacy is legitimate in other countries, Italian courts have been faced, in recent years, with claims concerning the recognition of foreign orders and birth certificates for children born abroad by means of a surrogate.

Since there is no international convention on the subject, the criteria to be followed in relation to the recognition of foreign orders and birth certificates relating to a child born through surrogacy are those set out generally by the Italian Private International law (Law 218/1995). One of the requirements to enable the recognition of a foreign order is the compliance with public order(art. 64 - 68 letter g Law 218/1995; art. 18 Decree 396/2000; art. 23 EU Reg. 2201/2003).

Case law has arisen in cases involving parents by way of surrogacy because the parents, who are declared as such on the foreign birth certificates and/or orders, have had their requests for the recognition and registration of their status as parents rejected by the Italian authority (Birth Register Office).

The reason for the rejections was because to recognise them as parents would supposedly conflict with the public order, as those foreign orders and certificates related to the use of a practice that is explicitly prohibited and criminally sanctioned by Italian law. Same sex parenthood in itself was also considered as another potential reason of conflict against public order in Italy.

Decisions given by first instance courts (to which the parents resorted to obtain their formal recognition as parents in Italy) were inconsistent, causing uncertainty and unequal treatment. At the same time, however, the decisions are the only source of guidance or regulation in respect of the effects of surrogacy with regard to the childrens status and the rights of all parties involved, as no guidelines are provided by the Law (all the Law currently stipulates is that surrogacy as a practice is prohibited).

Recently, cases involving surrogacy arrangements have finally reached the Supreme Court of Cassation.

Italy is a civil law system, so there is no principle of the binding precedent (whereby precedents set by the higher courts must be followed by the lower courts) and judges are subject only to the law (art. 101 Italian Constitution). However, the rulings given by the Supreme Court of Cassation, especially when sitting in Joint Sessions, are particularly authoritative.

This Court has a function of ensuring the correct interpretation of the law and so if lower courts decide to deviate from the principles stated in its judgments, they need to explain their reasons why (art. 374 co. 4 Italian civil procedure code).

Summary

The above quite different legal systems and processes by which parents can be legally recognised as their childrens parents highlights the difficulties with creating families across international borders. It is imperative that parents take legal advice at home, the country in which their child will be born and in any other country in which they have a significant connection before embarking on any surrogacy arrangement.

This blog was originally published in the November 2020 issue of Family Law Journal.

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The legal position of international surrogacy in England and Italy and the recognition of foreign parental orders - Lexology

Embryology

Fertility Treatment and IVF in Czech Republic During the Coronavirus Pandemic – Prague Morning

Fertility problems are common; one in six heterosexual couples worldwide experiences some form of infertility problem at least once. The Czech Republic is a desirable destination for all methods of IVF treatments.

The average cost in Czech Republic for IVF is between 2,700 and 5,700, with donors eggs between 4,500 and 8,000. In comparison, the price of IVF in the UK can hit a maximum of 10,000 and 14,000 respectively.

Czech IVF clinics are also amongst the best in Europe in terms of success rates. According to a 2014 report from the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), the average birth rate for IVF using the patients own eggs was around 33 per cent for those under 35 years old, 25.4 per cent for patients aged 35-39 and 13.2 per cent for patients over 40.

The average birth rate for IVF treatment with donor eggs was higher, at 46.8% for all age groups. As well as the traditional IVF, theres also the option to pursue social freezing, a relatively new treatment designed to freeze eggs or sperm at the peak of your fertility.

After collection, the gametes are cryopreserved until the owner is ready to start a family. Its possible to do this for years.

The Human assisted reproduction legislation in Czech Republic is one of the most liberal ones in Europe, perhaps worldwide.

The Czech law allows for properly tested people to donate their gametes. So, from anonymous reproductive cells donation programs to advanced genetic testing, couples that have depleted every treatment possibility at home can find adequate help at centres like PFC, Prague Fertility Centre, a well-known private clinic based in Vysocany, founded 11 years ago by Dr. Sonja Lazarovska, a gynaecologist and Dr. Daniel Hlinka, an embryologist; esteemed specialists who have both made significant contributions to the field.

We have seen the market evolve for the past 25 years. We are opening a completely new floor with modern facilities and state of the art Lab in 2021. We will offer better comfort and privacy to our patients, as well as increased treatment capacity. We will be able to help twice as many couples as we do todaysaid Dr. Hlinka.

Coronavirus related restrictions have changed the way that fertility treatments are carried out. But they are still safe to do. Prague Fertility Centre has adapted to the situation by offering online consultations, which as well as talking through treatment options, provides information for donors and guidance for women self-injecting hormones at home in preparation for egg collection and fertilisation.

This process, known as hormonal stimulation, is a key part of IVF, and so women are encouraged to self-isolate when doing so, as planning a pregnancy, even when doing so naturally, already means taking extra preventive measures to avoid getting the virus.

The ever-changing Coronavirus situation has led us to require a negative covid test before starting any treatment, this is in the best interest of our patients, a healthy pregnancy, and of course, of our staff. We would like to assure all our patients that there is no evidence about IVF increasing the risk of infection. With regards to Covid-safe facilities, PFC has upped the intensity of our usual cleaning regime, implemented mask-wearing, hand sanitising, and temperature checks at reception, said Dr. Lazarovska.

We have also increased the number of online consultations to reduce the number of people visiting us. Since we opened the Centre, online consultations have always saved our patients travel time and expenses, while still provided all the necessary medical help, she adds.

When Coronavirus first hit, a lot of people felt it was not the right time to start a family, but as the world seems to have learned to live with the virus, people have decided not to postpone their family plans any longer. Meanwhile, our single clients have decided to freeze their eggs or sperm while they are healthy and fertile.ExplainedDr. Svabikova,the Centres Senior IVF physician, dedicated to helping German and English speaking patients.

When asked about Brexit and how it would affect the travel of UK citizens for IVF treatment after January 1st, 2021,Dr. Svabikovacommented: We dont foresee any complications. Except for queuing in a separate lane at border control, all our British patients will continue to receive treatment like before.

As Im guided around the PFC clinic, Im shown the rooms where the coordinators speak to their patients in one of 12 different languages. I walk past the doors to the sperm collection rooms, the egg retrieval facility and the labs where fertilisation begins.

An estimated 9 million babies have been born through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) since 1978, and the popularity of the treatment shows no sign of slowing down.

So while fertility treatments are closed off to many, a couple struggling to start a family will find endless commitment and support at PFC We will not make false promises, but we will fully commit, from day one, to help all our patients achieve a healthy babysaid Dr. Svabikova.

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Fertility Treatment and IVF in Czech Republic During the Coronavirus Pandemic - Prague Morning

Embryology

Saviour siblings: the role of the welfare principle within the law of assisted reproductive technology in England and Wales (Part 1) – Family Law

Madeleine Whelan, Fourteen

In this article, Madeleine Whelan examines and explains the law governing the use of assisted reproductive technology to create children in England & Wales contained within the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. The article looks at this law within the context of 'saviour siblings', that is, a child born to provide an organ or cell transplant to a sibling who is affected by a (usually) life-threatening disease. Madeleine explores whether the existing law of childrens welfare, particularly the paramountcy principle, is appropriate for the law governing the creation (rather than continued existence) of children and how it fits in to the broader context of English law concerning the creation of children. The article looks at studies undertaken of saviour siblings and the potential impact the use of this technology may have on them and asks how the law in this area can justify a relational rather than paramountcy approach.

The full article will be published in the January issue ofFamily Law.

Find out moreorrequest a free 1-week trialofFamily Law journal. Please quote: 100482.

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Saviour siblings: the role of the welfare principle within the law of assisted reproductive technology in England and Wales (Part 1) - Family Law

Embryology

Uncovered How Corals Adjust To Warming Oceans – Eurasia Review

The CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system can help scientists understand, and possibly improve, how corals respond to the environmental stresses of climate change. Work led by Phillip Cleveswho joined Carnegies Department of Embryology this falldetails how the revolutionary, Nobel Prize-winning technology can be deployed to guide conservation efforts for fragile reef ecosystems.

Cleves research teams findings were recently published in two papers in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Corals are marine invertebrates that build extensive calcium carbonate skeletons from which reefs are constructed. But this architecture is only possible because of a mutually beneficial relationship between the coral and various species of single-celled algae that live inside individual coral cells. These algae convert the Suns energy into food using a process called photosynthesis and they share some of the nutrients they produce with their coral hostskind of like paying rent.

Coral reefs have great ecological, economic, and aesthetic value. Many communities depend on them for food and tourism. However, human activity is putting strain on coral reefs including warming oceans, pollution, and acidification and that affects this symbiotic relationship.

In particular, increasing ocean temperatures can cause coral to lose their algae, a phenomenon called bleaching, because the coral takes on a ghostly white look in the absence of the algaes pigment, Cleves explained. Without the nutrients provided by photosynthesis, the coral can die of starvation.

In 2018, Cleves headed up the team that demonstrated the first use of the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing on coral. Now, his teams used CRISPR/Cas9 to identify a gene responsible for regulating corals response to heat stress.

Working first in the anemone Aiptasia, one teamincluding Stanford Universitys Cory Krediet, Erik Lehnert, Masayuki Onishi, and John Pringleidentified a protein, called Heat Shock Factor 1 (HSF1), which activates many genes associated with the response to heat stress. Anemones are close coral relatives that have similar symbiotic relationships with photosynthetic algae, but they grow faster and are easier to study. These traits make Aiptasia a powerful model system to study coral biology in the lab.

Then another Cleves-led teamincluding Stanford Universitys Amanda Tinoco and John Pringle, Queensland University of Technologys Jacob Bradford and Dimitri Perrin, and Line Bay of the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)used CRISPR/Cas9 to create mutations in the gene that encodes HSF1 in the coral Acropora millepora, demonstrating its importance for coping with a warming environment. Without a functioning HSF1 protein, the coral died rapidly when the surrounding water temperature increased.

Understanding the genetic traits of heat tolerance of corals holds the key to understanding not only how corals will respond to climate change naturally but also balancing the benefits, opportunities and risks of novel management tools,said Bay, who is the AIMS principal research scientist and head of its Reef Recovery, Restoration and Adaptation team.

Added Cleves: Our work further demonstrates how CRISPR/Cas9 can be used to elucidate aspects of coral physiology that can be used to guide conservation. This time we focused on one particular heat tolerance gene, but there are so many more mechanisms to reveal in order to truly understand coral biology and apply this knowledge to protecting these important communities.

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Uncovered How Corals Adjust To Warming Oceans - Eurasia Review

Embryology

The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries Review: The Branching Tree of Life – The Wall Street Journal

The great but grumpy biologist J.B.S. Haldane was once asked what evidence would disprove evolution, whereupon he growled: Fossil rabbits in the Precambrian. He was referring to the evolutionary fact that complex multicellular creatures came along later than simple, unicellular ones. A bit surprising, perhaps, that one of the foremost evolutionary geneticists of the 20th century immediately reached for a paleontological example, but Haldanes reply was well-suited for public consumption, because thenas nowwhen most people thought of evolution, they were likely to conjure images of dinosaur fossils.

Donald Prothero is a research associate in vertebrate paleontology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. When I learned he had written a book that examined 25 different discoveries relating to evolution, I assumed that he, like Haldane, would deploy paleontology in making his case. Mr. Protheros book is indeed tilted toward examples from the world of ancestral creatures, but, refreshingly, also guides the reader through impressive discoveries in embryology and molecular genetics.

The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries is a parade of self-contained vignettes, often including biographical sketches of the scientists who made and interpreted each discovery. This particular story begins (like everything else) with the big bang, followed by the fascinating tale of how science gradually came to understand the age of the Earth: From biblical literalism; through Lord Kelvins famous underestimate, in the 1890s, of 20 million years; to our current understanding of 4.5 billion years. Then comes a whirlwind tour of evolutionary change as it occurs, in real time, among microbes, plants, insects, fish, birds and mammals, obliterating the creationist canard that evolution hasnt even been witnessed, let alone studied.

Some of the most impressive evolutionary stories involve common body plans, technically known as homologies. Thanks to Mr. Prothero, I now know that Aristotle first noticed this widespread phenomenon, of which Darwin wrote: What can be more curious than that the hand of a man, formed for grasping, that of a mole for digging, the leg of the horse, the paddle of the porpoise, and the wing of the bat, should all be constructed on the same pattern, and should include similar bones, in the same relative positions? Curious indeed. And strongly suggestive of common descentor, for anti-evolutionists, of a Creators insistence on sticking with the same divine blueprint, or archetype, even when other more direct routes should have been available. The Darwinian story provides scientific insight into why homologies occur, whereas the theological story simply reiterates that they occur.

And on we go, to the embryonic similarities of otherwise distantly related creatures (ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny) and then biogeography (the sinking of Noahs Ark), which shows, among other relevant findings, that the flora and fauna of islands resemble those of nearby continentsa phenomenon that wouldnt necessarily be expected if each had been a special, independent creation. The story of life continues, detailing how living things within natural categories share those common body plans, or, as Darwin put it, how organic beings have been found to resemble each other in descending degrees, so that they can be classed in groups under groups. As a result, instead of being arbitrary, our system of biological classification conforms perfectly with the nested, branching patterns of evolutionary relationships demonstrated by anatomy, physiology and genetics. Moreover, as Mr. Prothero points out, if life had been specially created rather than evolved, there would be no reason for the molecular systems to reflect this pattern of similarity seen in megascopic features . . . [and] not even Darwin could have dreamed that the genetic code of every cell in your body also shows the evidence of evolution.

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The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries Review: The Branching Tree of Life - The Wall Street Journal

Embryology

Richard Dawkins leaves everyone baffled with bizarre lion and spider conundrum – indy100

Richard Dawkins one of the worlds most influential evolutionary biologists and authors probably often finds that his posts on social media, notably, Twitter, often inspire a different kind of discussion than the ones hes used to having.

Dawkins was formerly a professor at the University of Oxford, and is a well known public figure. Hes courted controversy in the past for his views on religion, particularly as hes an outspoken atheist, and has devoted much of his professional life towards promoting scientific thought and scientific reason. He joined Twitter in late 2013, and has since been a figurehead on the platform, particularly as many of his musings have attracted public criticism, with over 2.9 million followers.

Earlier this week, he posted a bizarre question on his Twitter.

'If lions were discovered weaving antelope-catching nets ten lion-lengths wide, it would be headline news.

Yet spiders weave intricate insect-catching nets hugely bigger than themselves, and we treat it as commonplace. Whats the difference?

Spider webs seem remarkable because they involve externally visible behaviour.

But is web-weaving really any more remarkable than the unseen weaving of cells in embryology?

Web-weaving is Extended Phenotype embryology: just another amazing route by which DNA weaves phenotypes.

Its not entirely clear where this thought came from or even if he was looking for genuine answers. But it did lead to a lively discussion on Twitter.

Some people tried to answer it seriously.

Of course, its not the most controversial thing that hes tweeted or even the funniest.

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Richard Dawkins leaves everyone baffled with bizarre lion and spider conundrum - indy100

Embryology

Englands first not-for profit IVF clinic will open next year to combat fertility inequality – The Sun

ENGLANDS first not-for-profit IVF clinic will open next year with the aim of combating fertility inequality.

The new service will debut in London before being rolled out across England, and will allow people to access treatments at cost value - with no additional charges or add ons.

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The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) will undercut the cost of private clinics and charge the true cost of treatment - which can be between 3,000 and 3,500 for three cycles of IVF.

The charity, which has been helping women with pregnancy advice for more than 50 years will get rid of add ons such as embryo glue and assisted hatching, which have not been proven to work, but which many patients say they have been pressured into purchasing as well as the IVF itself.

Guidelines from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) state that drugs and treatment should be available on the NHS in England and Wales.

But as funding budgets are cut in many areas, IVF provisions have been pushed back - with many offering no paid options, with some offering just two cycles.

Often patients can also face discrimination when attending appointments, with some experts refusing to treat women over the age of 35.

WHAT IS IVF?

ONE OF the techniques used to help couples with fertility problems who are struggling to have a baby is in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

IVF refers to the process involves removing an egg from a womans ovaries and fertilising them using sperm in a laboratory.

The fertilised egg, also known as an embryo, is transferred back into a womans womb to grow.

The process can use eggs and sperm from the couple themselves, or these can be sourced from a donor.

How does IVF work?

There aresixmain stages of IVF:

Others have also been refused if they are not in a stable relationship, or couples where one partner already has a child from a previous relationship.

BPAS wants to make sure that IVF is inclusive to all and the first clinic will open in London in September 2021.

Egg collection and embryo transfers will be available and scans and other appointments will take place at satellite clinics in BPAS centres outside the capital in Peterborough and Swindon, before later being rolled out across England.

The clinics will use different entrances for patients seeking IVF and patients seeking abortions.

This, BPAS says is so that a woman wishing to terminate a pregnancy aren't placed in a waiting room with a woman who is struggling to conceive.

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BPAS was founded in 1968 and has drawn comparisons with IVF in 2020 to abortion in the 1960s.

The charity states that in the 1960s women had been unable to access NHS funded abortion care and had to go to private providers who charged extortionate prices.

Katherine OBrien, associate director of communications and campaigns at BPAS said while the IVF situation is not as severe, some IVF providers are encouraging women to undergo clinically unproven treatments at a huge personal and financial cost.

Marta Jansa Perez, director of embryology at the charity said the clinics should be as inclusive as possible in terms of ethnic diversity, sexual orientation and gender identities.

She added: Were not going to say bluntly say no to anyone but we are planning to follow all professional guidelines and provide patients with the full picture in terms of chances and risks to them and the baby that they will potentially have.

While she said people wont be turned away from being too old, experts will have very honest conversions with people about their chance of conceiving.

Jansa Perez said it is still the case that many people are being given false hope.

She had fertility treatment to conceive her two children and said she is passionate about giving other people the opportunity.

BPAS will aim to carry out 200 egg collections in the first year.

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It hopes it will eventually become a registered IVF provider for the NHS - which means patients could choose to have their NHS-funded IVF cycles at the BPAS clinics.

The clinic will be regulated by the Human Embryology and Fertility Authority.

Jansa Perez added: A lot of patients feel that when they have a negative pregnancy test, theyre either rushed on to having another treatment cycle and there is not discussion of maybe not having any further treatment, looking at the whole picture and seeing what their chances are, and whether thats something that they want to do, emotionally and financially.

Were not selling them the baby, were selling them a chance to possibly have one.

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Englands first not-for profit IVF clinic will open next year to combat fertility inequality - The Sun

Embryology

Can editing the DNA of human embryos protect us from future pandemics? – Scroll.in

Hollywood blockbusters such as X-men, Gattaca and Jurassic World have explored the intriguing concept of germline genome editing a biomolecular technique that can alter the DNA of sperm, eggs or embryos. If you remove a gene that causes a certain disease in an embryo, not only will the baby be free of the disease when born so will its descendants.

The technique is, however, controversial we can not be sure how a child with an altered genome will develop over a lifetime. But with the Covid-19 pandemic showing just how vulnerable human beings are to disease, is it time to consider moving ahead with it more quickly?

There is now good evidence that the technique works, with research normally carried out on unviable embryos that will never result in a living baby. But in 2018, Chinese scientist He Jiankui claimed that the first gene-edited babies had indeed been born to the universal shock, criticism and intrigue of the scientific community.

This human germline genome editing was performed using the Nobel-prize winning CRISPR system, a type of molecular scissors that can cut and alter the genome at a precise location. Researchers and policymakers in the fertility and embryology space agree that it is a matter of when and not if human germline genome editing technologies will become available to the general public.

In 2016, the United Kingdom became the first country in the world to formally permit three-parent babies using a genetic technique called mitochondrial replacement therapy replacing unhealthy mitochondria (a part of the cell that provides energy) with healthy ones from a donor.

Scientists are now discussing genome editing in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic. For example, one could use CRISPR to disable coronaviruses by scrambling their genetic code. But we could also edit peoples genes to make them more resistant to infection for example by targeting T cells, which are central in the bodys immune response. There are already CRISPR clinical trials underway that look to genome edit T cells in cancer patients to improve anti-tumour immunity (T cells attacking the tumour).

This type of gene editing differs to germline editing as it occurs in non-reproductive cells, meaning genetic changes are not heritable. In the long term, however, it may be more effective to improve T-cell responses using germline editing.

It is easy to see the allure. The pandemic has uncovered the brutal reality that the majority of countries across the world are completely ill-equipped to deal with sudden shocks to their, often, already overstretched healthcare systems. Significantly, the healthcare impacts are not only felt on Covid patients. Many cancer patients, for instance, have struggled to access treatments or diagnosis appointments in a timely manner during the pandemic.

This also raises the possibility of using human germline genome editing techniques to tackle serious diseases such as cancer to protect healthcare systems against future pandemics. We already have a wealth of information that suggests certain gene mutations, such as those in the BRCA2 gene in women, increase the probability of cancer development. These disease genetic hotspots provide potential targets for human germline genome editing therapy.

Furthermore, healthcare costs for diseases such as cancer will continue to rise as drug therapies continue to become more personalised and targeted. At this point, would gene editing not be simpler and cheaper?

As we approach the mezzo point of the 21st century, it is fair to say that Covid-19 could prove to be just the start of a string of international health crises that we encounter. A recent report by the UN Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services emphasised the clear connection between global pandemics and the loss of biodiversity and climate change. Importantly, the report delivers the grim future prediction of more frequent pandemics, which may well be deadlier and more devastating than Covid-19.

It is not just more viral pandemics that we might have to face in the future. As our global climate changes, so will the transmission rates of other diseases such as malaria. If malaria begins presenting itself in locations with unprepared healthcare systems, the impacts on healthcare provision could be overwhelming.

Interestingly, there is a way to protect people from malaria introducing a single faulty gene for the sickle cell anaemia. One copy of this faulty gene gives you a level of protection against malaria. But if two people with a single faulty gene have a baby, the child could develop sickle cell anaemia. This shows just how complicated gene editing can be you can edit genes to protect a population against one disease, but potentially causing trouble in other ways.

Despite the first human germline genome editing humans already having been born, the reality is that the technique will not be entering our mainstream lives any time soon. The UK Royal Society recently stated that heritable genome editing is not ready to be tried in humans safely, although it has urged that if countries do approve human germline genome editing treatment practices, it should focus on specific diseases that are caused by single specific genes, such as sickle cell anaemia and cystic fibrosis. But, as we have seen, it may not make sense to edit out the former in countries with high rates of malaria.

Other major challenges for researchers is unintended genetic modifications at specific sites of the genome which could lead to a host of further complications to the genome network. The equitable access to treatment provides another sticking point. How would human germline genome editing be regulated and paid for?

The world is not currently ready for human germline genome editing technologies and any progress in this field is likely to occur at a very incremental pace. That being said, this technology will eventually come to feature in humanity for disease prevention. The big question is simply when?. Perhaps the answer depends on the severity and frequency of future health crises.

Yusef Paolo Rabiah is a PhD Candidate at UCL Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy at the University College London.

This article first appeared on The Conversation.

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Can editing the DNA of human embryos protect us from future pandemics? - Scroll.in