A 66-year-old Romanian woman has become the oldest woman in the world to give birth after she underwent nine years of hormone treatment.
Eliza Maria was born weighing 1.4kg after her twin was discovered to have died in the womb. Professor Adriana Iliescu said that her career had prevented her from having a family earlier.
[This is London, 17 January ] The January edition of the Harvard Heart Letter has detailed promising therapies involving the use of adult stem cells to treat damaged heart muscle.
The letter looks at approaches which include the use of adult stem cells taken from bone marrow, blood and muscle to ease the symptoms of heart failure.
[Medical News Today, 17 January ] An advisor to the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury has said that there is 'an overwhelming case' for assisted dying in cases such as that of Diane Pretty, The Independent reports.
Canon Professor Robin Gill was giving evidence at the parliamentary committee hearing on Lord Joffe's assisted dying bill when he made the apparently pro-euthanasia comments, which were immediately seized upon by the Voluntary Euthanasia Society.
He told the Observer newspaper: "Anglicans are not united on whether we should legalise euthanasia.
The bishops have consistently shown that they don't believe in changing the law, but the majority of churchgoers think it should be amended." A spokesman for the Church of England said that church opposition to euthanasia had not changed in spite of Canon Gill's personal opinions.
[The Independent, 16 January ] SPUC's Robin McNair Prize, an essay-writing competition for young people on pro-life subjects, was awarded at a ceremony at the Houses of Parliament today.
Desmond Swayne MP presented cash prizes to Niamh Mason, Nuala McKay, Martin McQuade and their schools for their winning entries on subjects such as abortion and disability and the right to life.
The Robin McNair Prize commemorates the life of Squadron Leader McNair, a Second World War fighter pilot and campaigner for the unborn.
The prize is jointly sponsored by the SPUC Educational Research Trust and the McNair family. [SPUC, 17 January ]