Short Science, August 25, 2013
Scientists are going back to basics and testing a simpler and cheaper method for test-tube babies. European and American scientists say a simplified version of the entire procedure aimed at developing countries could be done for about €200 (HK$2,000) with generic fertility drugs and basic lab equipment that would fit inside a shoebox.
Cheaper test-tube-baby drugs on way
Scientists are going back to basics and testing a simpler and cheaper method for test-tube babies. European and American scientists say a simplified version of the entire procedure aimed at developing countries could be done for about €200 (HK$2,000) with generic fertility drugs and basic lab equipment that would fit inside a shoebox. "IVF (in vitro fertilisation) is made to sound complicated but the fact is that the early embryo is not very demanding," said Jonathan Van Blerkom, a fertility expert at the University of Colorado. The simpler approach calls for women to take cheaper fertility tablets to stimulate their ovaries to release more than one egg per month. AP
Scanners, not scalpels, in new post-mortems
Malaysian entrepreneur Matt Chandran wants to revive the moribund post-mortem by replacing the scalpel with a scanner and the autopsy slab with a touchscreen computer. He believes his so-called digital autopsy could largely displace the centuries-old traditional knife-bound one, speeding up investigations. Reuters