I鈥橫 TOLD that the review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act working its way through government circles is somewhat short of peace and harmony. Research scientists at the frontiers of knowledge say they are furious with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) on the grounds that it is restricting what they could do for some very disabled people. But the government attitude is clear.
Take for example the matter of the sex of a baby. Melanie Johnson, the public health minister, says assisted reproduction procedures, which may enable the sex of children to be pre-selected, raise important clinical and ethical issues. The HFEA鈥檚 code of practice states that clinics should not use procedures such as preimplantation genetic diagnosis to select an embryo of a preferred sex for social reasons, although as this magazine has pointed out (12 June, p 6), it has been used for medical purposes to prevent a child being born with a serious genetic disorder. New sperm-sorting techniques such as flow cytometry have now reached a level of accuracy where we need to consider whether they should come within the scope of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act.
Personally, I concur with the view that, boy or girl, it鈥檚 best left to chance (快猫短视频, 12 June, p 3). On the grounds of safety and the unknown impact on society that such novel technologies could have, governments surely have a responsibility to regulate them.
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BEE-KEEPERS worldwide are troubled by the threat of the small hive beetle (Aethina tumida). A hive infested by this pest turns into a fetid mass of slime and maggots, and the honey becomes totally polluted, destroying the bee colony.
Last year the European Commission brought in measures to counter the danger of importing such exotic pests and diseases. Commission Decision 881 tightens up the rules on the importation of honey (and bumble) bees. It significantly reduces the range of countries eligible to export to the European Union by strengthening the certification procedures required. Specifically, much greater care must be taken over the transport of queen bees and their attendant workers. The all-in 鈥渂ee packages鈥� in which they were previously imported are now prohibited. Only New Zealand, Australia and Argentina now satisfy the requirements.
Lord Whitty, the minister for food, farming and sustainable energy, says there has not been a single request for a bee import licence in 2004. It goes to show just how discerning the British bee-keeping community has become.
I am myself a former bee-keeper. Sadly bee-keeping does not chime with the demands of parliamentary responsibility. Yet I am worried, because this summer I sensed an almost total absence of bumblebees in the countryside around my Scottish constituency. It is an area that used to be enhanced by their interminable and welcome song.
