The first babies genetically engineered to be free from disease could be born in Britain within three years, scientists claimed today. A project at the University of Newcastle has already created 10 human embryos, each containing the DNA from one man and two women. It is hoped the research will lead to cures for serious hereditary illnesses including muscular dystrophy and epilepsy. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

A fertility clinic in Los Angeles is offering its clients a choice of gender, eye color, hair color and complexion for their babies born using IVF. The technique used is called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis or PGD. What that basically means is that if dad’s got an afro and mom’s got blue eyes, you can instruct the doctor to ensure that the baby gets both. picked by neilharvey 9 months ago

Melbourne renal specialists have discovered a gene that helps the kidney develop in infancy and repair itself in older age - a double job they believe has the ability to revolutionise the way organ disease is treated. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

There's enough controversy about creating "perfect" babies, what about parents who want to create babies with selected defects? picked by tomphoolry 3 years ago

Occasionally babies who are meant to be terminated right before birth will be born still able to breathe on their own, if this occurs they are left to die alone in a room, some have lived up to an hour before passing.

This makes me sick. picked by muppetmaker 1 year ago

Ethicists are becoming increasingly concerned that embryo screening is becoming a popular trend in determining a baby's gender. This process, originally intended to detect medical problems, is now performed in 42% of clinics without being medically warranted. Is blond-hair, blue-eyes screening next? picked by ybne1else 3 years ago

Why does "Brave New World" pop into my head when I read this? picked by tomphoolry 3 years ago

In a new German TV series, teenage couples are given the task of parenting - very real babies - for a few days. The series was aimed at discouraging teen pregnancy, but it's gotten slammed by children's rights groups."Normally, babies wouldn't voluntarily go to strangers," Munich child psychiatrist Karl-Heinz Brisch said. "It causes stress and fear for children of this age to be he... read full post picked by bingo 6 months ago

Artificial wombs and experiments on human embryos grown in the lab will be commonplace and no big deal ethically in 30 years, several scientists predict. They envision a scenario just like test-tube babies, which shocked us 30 years ago but now are fairly routine and acceptable to most people. picked by deEPCHIll 1 year ago

The United States is failing hundreds of thousands of its youngest citizens on the day they are born, according to the first ever March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card. The nation received a “D” and not a single state earned an “A,” when the March of Dimes compared preterm birth rates to the national Healthy People 2010 goal. picked by mikelstone2 1 year ago

Why don’t young children express themselves articulately? And why is the idea of toddler speaking in perfect sentences so hilarious? picked by Bornbad 10 months ago

Proponents of teaching sign language to babies say it is a powerful tool for early communication. Frustration and outbursts are lessened because baby can immediately communicate his wants and needs long before he can physically pronounce them. picked by equinox 9 months ago

Have you ever wondered what the babies of bats, aye-ayes, hedgehogs, echidnas or pygmy marmosets look like? Well, now you can find out. Unusual as some of these animals are, the babies will surely trigger some awww-inspiring moments. picked by bornbad 6 months ago

Scientists believe they have made a breakthrough in the treatment of a severe muscle disease that causes floppy baby syndrome.

Most babies born with the rare disorder are severely paralysed and the majority die before the age of one. picked by AutumnLotus 6 months ago

Some animals have been bred in space, but not mammals. Japanese researchers are looking into the possibility, and doing experiments with mice on earth that mimic lower gravity space conditions.

There were some baby mice produced after the embryos were implanted, but not many survived compared to a control group picked by Bingo 3 months ago

The urge to cuddle and coo when presented with a baby turns out to be an innate response prompted, at least in part, by the structure of an infant's face. picked by MandolinOrange 2 years ago

And the still-to-be-named panda babies are quite the big deal. The last time triplets were born in North America was 10 years ago. Last year the pair had twins — two of the five red pandas born in all of North America in 2008. picked by bingo 5 months ago

A clinic is offering mothers bronze models of their unborn babies. The London Ultrasound Centre, near Harley Street, is the first in the country to offer the service, which allows parents to 'celebrate' their babies in the womb. picked by AutumnLotus 11 months ago

Children born in the winter months already have a few strikes against them. Study after study has shown that they test poorly, don't get as far in school, earn less, are less healthy, and don't live as long as children born at other times of year. Researchers have spent years documenting the effect and trying to understand it. picked by nateebiinature 2 months ago

RNID has made a statement that deaf people should be able to select an embryo that will be born deaf and throw out ones that would be able to hear. RNID does not speak for all deaf people and some are saying that the statement is taken out of context. That they want the right to implant embryos that are deaf when that is the only viable embryo. picked by 2manyusernames 2 years ago