French civil rights groups have welcomed a decision by French Immigration Minister Eric Besson to scrap a controversial measure requiring DNA tests for residency seekers wishing to reunite with their families in France.
Warrants for the use of DNA tests in visa applications will not be signed, French Immigration Minister Eric Besson (pictured) told a radio station on Sunday. Evoking a lack of resources, the minister called for a delay in the law's implementation.
Scientists have announced the creation of the first transgenic monkeys, bred with a gene that makes the animals' skin glow green. The Japanese team say the controversial achievement opens up exciting prospects for medical research.
Austria and Hungary will not be forced to allow cultivation of genetically modified maize after a vote by EU member states. The European Commission had earlier called for lifting a ban on growing GM maize as requested by US biotech giant Monsanto.
Scottish scientists in Glasgow and Edinburgh plan to soon launch two cutting-edge experiments using stem cells - one to treat a common form of blindness (corneal blindness), and the other to treat victims of strokes.
A British mother has successfully given birth to the first baby selected to be free of a gene responsible for breast cancer. Still relatively rare, the selection procedure is banned in several countries for ethical reasons.
Scientists say they have found a variant of a common gene that is linked to high blood pressure. The discovery, they say, "has great potential for enhancing our ability to tailor treatments to the individual."
Through the DNA analysis of two hairs and a tooth, scientists have confirmed that remains found in Poland in 2005 are those of famous 15th-century astronomer Nicolas Copernicus. The revelation marks the end of a 200-year hunt.
Stem cells taken from human embryos have been used by Japanese scientists to create functioning brain tissue. A world-first that could lead to the better treatment of strokes or degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.
The frozen cell of a mouse which died 16 years ago has enabled Japanese scientists to clone mice in good health, they say, and may eventually lead to work on cloning and restoring extinct species such as the mammoth.
