PET - Progress Educational Trust

PET - Progress Educational Trust PET - an independent fertility and genomics charity - publishes BioNews and hosts topical events.

Rare variants in the FNIP1 gene have been linked to lower body fat, less liver fat, a more favourable fat distribution, ...
24/08/2026

Rare variants in the FNIP1 gene have been linked to lower body fat, less liver fat, a more favourable fat distribution, and around 60 percent lower odds of cardiometabolic disease, according to the largest exome-sequencing study of energy metabolism to date. Dr Teja Rus explains that researchers ‘analysed the protein-coding regions of DNA in 1,032,116 people from 11 cohorts across North America, Europe and Asia. The team focused on the ratio of triglycerides to HDL cholesterol – a blood marker associated with metabolic health and the risk of conditions including type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease.’
Read more for free in BioNews:https://www.progress.org.uk/rare-gene-variants-linked-to-better-body-fat-distribution-and-metabolic-health/
To support PET in providing accessible information for all, you can follow, like and repost our content. Your help in sharing this information raises awareness of PET’s work. Thank you for your support.

US Scientists have obtained the most complete and accurate sequence of a human diploid reference genome to date, paving ...
24/08/2026

US Scientists have obtained the most complete and accurate sequence of a human diploid reference genome to date, paving the way for advancements in personalised medicine.
Grace Woolston explains that ‘previous attempts to sequence the human genome have relied on haploid cell lines with only a single copy of each chromosome’ and that this new sequencing involves a diploid reference genome, involving two slightly different copies of each chromosome.
Read more for free in BioNews: https://www.progress.org.uk/human-genome-benchmark-maps-both-sets-of-chromosomes-to-fill-gaps-in-genetic-data/
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A new episode of PET’s Podcast is out now: ‘Donor Conception and Genetic Disease – Lessons to be learned from Donor 7069...
23/08/2026

A new episode of PET’s Podcast is out now: ‘Donor Conception and Genetic Disease – Lessons to be learned from Donor 7069’.
This episode examines the case of a donor whose s***m was used to conceive at least 197 children in at least 14 countries, when he (unknowingly) carried a genetic mutation that causes cancer.
This episode features a panel discussion between Professor Allan Pacey, Dr Edwige Kasper, Allan Toft Jacobsen, Nanna Humle, Rachel Cutting, Professor Lucy Frith, Nina Barnsley and was chaired by PET’s Director, Sarah Norcross.
Listen to more for free via streaming platforms, such as Spotify and Apple Podcast , or via the link: https://www.progress.org.uk/pet-podcast-donor-conception-and-genetic-disease-lessons-to-be-learned-from-donor-7069/
To support PET in providing accessible information for all, you can follow, like and repost our content. Your help in sharing this information raises awareness of PET’s work. Thank you for your support.

Podcast Review: ‘The Gift – Twins’.Varsha Traynor reflects on a recent two-part episode of BBC Radio 4’s programme ‘The ...
23/08/2026

Podcast Review: ‘The Gift – Twins’.
Varsha Traynor reflects on a recent two-part episode of BBC Radio 4’s programme ‘The Gift’, which explores the experience of twins, Michelle and Lavinia, whom discover via at-home-DNA testing that they have different genetic fathers. Varsha notes that the podcast explores the impact on the twins when learning this; identity; loss and gain; and the differences in relationships between the twins and their genetic fathers. Overall, Varsha states that ‘what emerges is a picture of identity as something far less clear-cut than genetics alone: shaped instead by circumstance, relationships, and the decisions we make along the way’.
Read more for free in BioNews: https://www.progress.org.uk/podcast-review-the-gift-twins/
Want to receive PET’s free weekly BioNews newsletter? Click the link to subscribe: https://www.progress.org.uk/sign-up/ Thank you for your support!

Comment: ‘Why limits to gamete donor use only work if they cross borders’.Professor Lucy Frith (Professor of Bioethics, ...
21/08/2026

Comment: ‘Why limits to gamete donor use only work if they cross borders’.

Professor Lucy Frith (Professor of Bioethics, University of Manchester) and Professor Jackson Kirkman-Brown (Professor in Reproductive Biology, University of Birmingham) reflect on the position paper published in July 2026 by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) on international limits on the number of offspring per gamete donor.

In this commentary, Professor Frifth and Professor Kirkman-Brown support the Paper’s call on 'the European Union (EU) to introduce an EU-wide limit as a feasible first step, supported by an EU-wide donor registry to monitor compliance’ and explain that while ‘most European countries have a limit on the number of offspring or families that can be created from a single donor, […] those limits vary widely, are not consistently enforced, and, importantly, count only what happens inside one jurisdiction’.

In addition, Professor Frifth and Professor Kirkman-Brown note that ‘this [EU-wide limit] matters because what is important for donor-conceived people is the total number of donor siblings they have, not the number who live in the same country’.

Read more for free in BioNews: https://www.progress.org.uk/why-limits-to-gamete-donor-use-only-work-if-they-cross-borders/

To support PET in providing accessible information for all, you can follow, like and repost our content. Your help in sharing this information raises awareness of PET’s work. Thank you for your support.

Three in four IVF babies in Australia and New Zealand are born from frozen embryos, according to the latest annual repor...
19/08/2026

Three in four IVF babies in Australia and New Zealand are born from frozen embryos, according to the latest annual report from the Australian and New Zealand Assisted Reproduction Database.
Emma Brambilla notes that ‘data from 2024 show[ed] that around 70 percent of embryo transfers now involve’ frozen embryos, in contrast to the just over 30 percent statistic from five years earlier. In addition, Emma states that the Report said that ‘live birth rate for frozen embryo transfers increased substantially during that period, from 31.2 percent to 33.3 percent’.
Read more for free in BioNews: https://www.progress.org.uk/frozen-embryos-account-for-three-quarters-of-australian-ivf-births/
To support PET in providing accessible information for all, you can follow, like and repost our content. Your help in sharing this information raises awareness of PET’s work. Thank you for your support.

We thought you would be interested in this...Just in case you are not yet aware, the British Fertility Society Study Wee...
19/08/2026

We thought you would be interested in this...
Just in case you are not yet aware, the British Fertility Society Study Week is taking place from 15th - 18th September 2026 - and it is back in person.
There are lots of great speakers and interesting topics for you to learn more about. You can find all the details on the BFS website. Should be a great week. https://www.britishfertilitysociety.org.uk/.../study.../

COMMENT: Donor limits and genetic risk: Separating fact from perceptionby Dr Heidi Mertes, Associate Professor in Medica...
18/08/2026

COMMENT: Donor limits and genetic risk: Separating fact from perception
by Dr Heidi Mertes, Associate Professor in Medical Ethics, and Dorian Accoe, PhD researcher at Ghent University.

Limits on the number of children born from one donor may have ethical and psychosocial benefits, but they will not reduce the overall likelihood of donor-conceived people inheriting genetic conditions, read more in BioNews...
https://www.progress.org.uk/donor-limits-and-genetic-risk-separating-fact-from-perception/

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A new Cochrane review has reportedly found that routine preparation techniques used before embryo transfer may not impro...
17/08/2026

A new Cochrane review has reportedly found that routine preparation techniques used before embryo transfer may not improve pregnancy rates.
Emily St John Jones notes that the Report's co-author Dr Ryosuke Akino, said that “current practices in this area often reflect local protocols, clinician preference, and historical convention rather than strong, high-quality evidence”.
Emily discusses the three examined approaches, including: examined three approaches: ‘having a full bladder, removing mucus from the cervix, and afterloading, where doctors position the catheter before loading the embryo’.
Read more for free in BioNews: https://www.progress.org.uk/embryo-transfer-preparation-techniques-not-supported-by-evidence/
This imaged is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

Want to receive PET’s free weekly BioNews newsletter? Click the link to subscribe: https://www.progress.org.uk/sign-up/ . Thank you for your support.

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