embryo

ONE of Australia's first "designer babies" born from an embryo that doctors believed did not contain a cancer gene has failed, prompting a massive lawsuit. The boy's heartbroken family launched the landmark legal action against a Victorian IVF clinic following the alleged diagnosis.

In late December, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the meat and milk from cloned cattle, goats and pigs are safe and do not require any special labeling. The announcement drew immediate protest from consumer groups, which criticized the agency for reaching a sweeping safety conclusion based on data from relatively short- term studies on fewer than 100 cloned food animals. They also cited the high incidence of birth defects among cloned animals.