New safety fears have been raised about a controversial IVF technique. It has
already been claimed that intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) doubles the
risk of birth defects
(This Week, 22 November 1997, p 5). Now a team led by
Jennifer Bowen of the University of Sydney says that children conceived by ICSI
have “mild delays” in their mental development when they are one year old (
The Lancet, vol 351, p 1529). However, another study published in the same
issue (p 1553) found no similar effect for a group of two-year-old children.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
Woman with Alzheimer's starts conversing again after taking psilocybin
2
If you aren't terrified by this heatwave, you should be
3
Where, when and how to watch the 2026 solar eclipse
4
Our verdict on The Selfish Gene: An unpopular piece of popular science
5
We鈥檝e uncovered a master gene that switches on human development
6
How menopause radically changes the brain 鈥 and what happens after
7
Faecal transplant makes the brains of old mice act young again
8
Europe鈥檚 heatwave is the hottest and most humid ever
9
The race to understand how and when Thwaites glacier will collapse
10
Lost books by ancient philosophers recovered from 'unreadable' scrolls
