Lisa Jardine is the right woman for the HFEA. Pfizer fails to rewrite the rules of science. And sentimentality has deprived Nasa of a highly capable head of science by Philip Ball / May 24, 2008 / Leave a comment Published in May 2008 issue of Prospect Magazine

Can Lisa Jardine save embryology?

Historian Lisa Jardine, the new head of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), begins her role ahead of the impending Commons vote on the human fertilisation and embryology bill. The bill crystallises several moral dilemmas about research and practice in these areas, and threatens to intensify the polarisation they induce. Whatever position Jardine takes is sure to upset some vocal group or other.

This is why the appointment of someone used to taking the long view, and accustomed to the hard knocks of public life, probably makes sense. Certainly, Jardines popularising instincts seem right for the HFEA just now: she considers public education about fertility issues as important as the regulatory responsibilities. The HFEA has hitherto seldom shown an explicit commitment to inform.

So far, the misinformation about the bill spread by Catholic officials and other religious groupstalk of animal-human cybrid embryos in research as of Frankenstein proportiondoes not seem to have dented public appreciation of the potential benefits of such research. (The animal component would be a mere shell for human genes.) But it is never a good idea to underestimate the determination of zealots.

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Lab report - Prospect