Britain’s first genetically modified human embryos could be created within months, after scientists were granted permission to carry out the controversial procedure in a landmark decision by the fertility regulator. The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) regulator approved a license application by Kathy Niakan, a stem cell scientist at the Francis Crick Institute in London, to perform so-called genome editing on human embryos. The decision permits Niakan to study the embryos for 14 days.

Zika Outbreak in Same Location Where GM Mosquitoes Were Released Last Year

The World Health Organization announced it will convene an Emergency Committee under International Health Regulations on Monday, February 1, concerning the Zika virus ‘explosive’ spread throughout the Americas. The virus reportedly has the potential to reach pandemic proportions — possibly around the globe. But understanding why this outbreak happened is vital to curbing it. GM mosquitos were release in Brazil to eradicate disease, but it seems to have backfired.

Bacteria From Mother May Colonize Cesarean Births

The first germs to colonize a newborn delivered vaginally come almost exclusively from its mother. But the first to reach an infant born by cesarean section come mostly from the environment — particularly bacteria from inaccessible or less-scrubbed areas like lamps and walls, and skin cells from everyone else in the delivery room. That difference, some experts believe, could influence a child’s lifelong health. Now, in the first study of its kind, researchers on Monday confirmed that a mother’s beneficial microbes can be transferred, at least partially, from her vagina to her baby after a C-section. My question is, if you or your baby are not in danger from performing a vaginal birth, why not just have a vaginal birth? Then the baby will get this bacteria without all the “swabbing.”