Widow fights for right to use sperm taken from dead husband

A legal fight by a UK woman to have a child using sperm taken from her husband after his death is underway. The case highlights the need for regulatory clarity on the issue, which first came to prominence in 1995 when Diane Blood won the right to conceive using sperm from her comatose spouse.

Doctors were allowed to harvest the sperm as the unnamed 42-year old woman and her husband, from Twickenham. London, had just begun fertility treatment, a judge ruled. However, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) are questioning the legality of the sperm extraction process. The law currently requires the man's written consent, although a
gynaecologist has confirmed that the couple were seeking fertility treatment before the man's death. 'Had the husband had the opportunity to give consent in writing, it is clear from the overwhelming evidence that he would have
done so', said David Josiah-Lake, the solicitor representing the woman. In Diane Blood's case, she was eventually permitted to undergo treatment abroad when the HFEA lifted its ban on the export of human gametes. She now has two children. She supports the current applicant, saying: 'If the couple were engaged on a joint venture to have a child and there is evidence from a conversation that the deceased would have wished the surviving partner to continue with that notwithstanding his death, then I see no need for that consent to be in writing. I cannot imagine life without my children. They bring joy to a great many people including my late husband's family'.

Vincent Cable, the widow's local Liberal Democrat MP, submitted an amendment to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, currently passing through parliament, which would allow the use of sperm in such cases in the UK, removing complications surrounding cross-border fertility treatments. He additionally proposed that a consultant's confirmation of the deceased's intention to have children should be sufficient evidence of consent. 'This amendment is quite narrowly drawn but would deal with a small number of specific cases where it is a woman's right to have a child by her partner. In this case the couple were already embarking on fertility treatment and it was clear her husband had it in mind to support her having
a child in this way, so she could have a stronger case than Mrs Blood', said Cable.

The widow hopes that the HFEA will allow her to use her late husband's sperm to conceive a brother or sister for their only daughter. The HFEA said that they could not comment on the case as it was before court.

Beijing Olympics & Bush

It's the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. President Bush is delivering the inaugural speech.

He looks down at his prepared speech, clears his throat, and says 'Oo! Oo! Oo! Oo! Oo!'

Condi leans over and whispers in his ear, "Mr President, those are the Olympic rings. Your speech is immediately below that"

New Inventions That Will Change Your Lives

The "Guinness Book Of Records" Saree

Chennai Silk Saree drapes its way to World Record on November 28, 2007. How often have you come across a Rs 40 lakh = $100,000) silk saree?

Chennai Silks, a textile unit has come up with one of its kind and it is seeking an unmistakable entry into the Guinness Book of World Records for being the most unique and expensive saree.

The exceptionally stunning saree is meticulously woven with 12 precious stones and metals to depict 11 of Raja Ravi Verma's popular paintings. Explicitly projected is 'Lady Musicians', one of the painter's very famous works that displays women belonging to diverse cultural backgrounds.

Besides, the border of the saree pictures 10 other paintings of the artist that pays tribute to 20th century artist.

The best part of the saree being that the women in the paintings are intricately hand-woven and beautified with jewels of gold, diamond, platinum, silver, ruby, emerald, yellow sapphire, sapphire, cat's eye, topaz, pearl and corals.

Already in the Limca Book of Records, this 40 lakh saree will be the first silk saree that required the use of 7,440 jacquard hooks and 66,794 cards during the weaving process. Moreover, a group of consummate workers took nearly 4,680 hours to complete the work.

He was waiting for it

Is China Ready For The Olympics-II

Mouse Skin Cells Reprogrammed to Act Like Embryonic Stem Cells

Heart and blood cells can be grown from reprogrammed mouse skin cells, report University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers in the journal Stem Cells. The researchers say this is the first demonstration that stem cells from reprogrammed skin can be used to generate three types of heart and blood cell, including beating heart tissue. These could theoretically be used to repair damage following disease or heart attack.
Skin cells are transformed into stem cells using a combination of genetic factors. UCLA researchers were among those to develop the technique last June. The cells, known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, resemble embryonic stem (ES) cells but do not require the use of human eggs or embryos in their development. A Canadian team previously generated beating heart tissue using embryonic stem cells.
Robb MacLellan and his team grew iPS cells on a protein matrix designed to promote the transition of stem cells into cardiovascular progenitors. These specialised cells were then treated under different conditions to direct development into three types of cardiovascular tissue: cardiomyocytes, or mature heart muscle cells that control heartbeat, endothelial cells, which form rudimentary blood vessels, and vascular smooth muscle cells, the specialized cells that line blood vessel walls. The cardiomyocytes began to beat once mature. 'I believe iPS cells address many of the shortcomings of human embryonic stem cells and are the future of regenerative medicine', said MacLellan, senior study author and associate professor of cardiology and physiology.
If iPS cell-derived cardiovascular tissues can be used to treat heart disease or damage, they could potentially allow personalised treatment following, for instance, a heart attack. A patient's own skin cells could provide iPS cells that in turn would be used to develop new heart tissue, which would be genetically matched to the patient thus avoiding immune rejection. 'Our hope is that, based on this work in mice, we can show that similar cardiovascular progenitor cells can be found in human iPS cells and, using a similar strategy, that we can isolate the progenitor cells and differentiate them into the cells types found in the human heart', MacLellan said.
Work is underway at UCLA to determine whether the techniques established in mice can be used in humans. Although human applications of this research remain distant, it seems that iPS cells could provide regenerative treatment in future without the need for the controversial use of human eggs and embryos.