Ethics row as choosing baby’s sex splits MPs

A controversial report, which favours allowing parents to choose the sex of their child and rethinking the cloning ban, is published today by a committee of MPs split down the middle over the needs of science and the ethics of embryo research.

From the cells up

Engineers of the future will swap their computers and spanners for viruses and DNA. Alok Jha introduces a brand-new science: biological engineering.

Cashing in on your genes

The fashion for genetic testing via the internet is more about using the power of suggestion to turn a profit than about inherited abilities, writes Vivienne Parry.

Own tissue breast implant

Stem cells, the progenitors of living tissue, could alter the face of cosmetic surgery, claim scientists today, who report that implants of flesh grown from bone marrow could provide better material for reconstructive surgery following cancer treatment.