Companies are racing to accelerate and commercialize in-vitro gametogenesis, or IVG, which would make human eggs and sperm in the lab from any cell in the body containing anyone's DNA.

ADRIAN FLORIDO, HOST:

One of the most cutting-edge and controversial fields of biomedical research right now is the quest to create eggs and sperm in the lab for anyone with their own DNA. And now, private companies have jumped into the race to revolutionize the way humans reproduce. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein reports on what these startups are up to.

ROB STEIN, BYLINE: It's a cloudy day in Berkeley, Calif. I turn onto a gritty side street near the San Francisco Bay and ring the bell on a low concrete building with big frosted glass doors.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOORBELL RINGING)

New Delhi, Jul 12 (PTI) Most "journey to the roots" stories conclude in easy reconciliation, says Cambodian-French director Davy Chou, who wanted to offer a counter perspective through "Return to Seoul", his critically-acclaimed film about an adoptee's search for connection and meaning.
    The film, currently streaming on MUBI India, revolves around Freddie, a 25-year-old French-Korean played by artist-sculptor Park Ji-min. On a whim, Freddie lands in Seoul, a trip that may look unplanned but what she is actually looking for is a way to connect with her biological parents.
    Chou said as someone who grew up with two cultural identities, he understands the confusion that comes with trying to make sense of one's origin.
    "In the 'journey to the roots' classical story, (there's) always some kind of happy, full closure happening at the end of the film. I just feel like, 'Guys, it's not that simple!' I was excited to offer a counter perspective on that kind of a classical film," he told PTI in an interview.
    Chou co-wrote "Return To Seoul" with his childhood friend Laure Badufle, who as a Korean-French adoptee, is also the real-life inspiration behind the movie.
    The director, whose parents fled Cambodia just before the Khmer Rouge genocide in 1975, recalled how it all started when Badufle asked him to accompany her to meet her biological father in South Korea in 2011.
    "If I was to imagine, I would have maybe imagined more tears and more like people sharing experiences. But it was very different. It's something that really shocked me because it was so emotional, but also maybe so different from what I would have expected from such a reunion," he said.
    Chou said Badufle, who is a yogini, life coach and artist, confided in him that she also felt frustrated with films and documentariese around the theme of adoption always ending in reconciliation "with yourself, all your identities and your culturally different families".
    "She said that was not her experience of meeting her biological father, which just brought up more questions. I relate to that because even though I'm not adopted, I myself have a different origin. Like Cambodia, which I decided to visit when I was 25, which is the same age as Freddie's in the beginning of the film," he said.
    Chou said he understands why the story of "Return To Seoul", which opened to glowing reviews at its Cannes Film Festival premiere in 2022, found a connection with the audiences.
    "A lot of us are like second generation or third generation of immigrants who are curious because they also have the chance to be able to travel, to go to the country where they're supposed to come from, but you often know nothing about or you believe you know something and you find out that you know nothing," he said.
    "That's very contemporary and thematic, but I rarely find it treated in the way that will speak to my own experience. So that's basically why I wanted to make the film," he added.
    Chou said it has been more challenging for Badufle to see "the chapter of her life re-emerge for two hours" on the big screen.
    "She watched the film at the same time with 1,000 people at Cannes, which is a bit brutal, and it was not a good experience, I would say," he admitted.
    Weeks after the Cannes screening, he said, they had coffee in Paris and the filmmaker thought his friend felt "a bit down" with all that was happening around the film.
    "Then, she came back to another screening. Participating and talking with the audience was an important moment for her to get back the ownership of her story. She felt good afterwards," he added.
    The success of the film and the way the story has resonated with other adoptees has also been comforting for Badufle, said Chou.
    "Even now, I think it's still a rollercoaster emotional thing for her, which is normal. It's not easy to see your life on the big screen and people discussing it everywhere. You don't really have control on that."

As the frequency of DNA paternity tests surges, the umbrella Human Rights Organization (CLADHO) has issued a stark warning, highlighting the potential risks faced by children in the absence of adequate protective measures.

A recently released report by Rwanda Forensic Laboratory shows a significant increase in the number of paternity tests, soaring from 168 in 2018/19 to 780 in 2022/23.

Lab records show that 246 paternity tests were performed in 2019/20, 424 tests in 2020/21, and 599 in 2021/22, and then 780 tests in 2022/23.

An official from the institution explained to The New Times that the surge in DNA paternity tests can partly be attributed to the accessibility of DNA services and greater awareness campaigns across the the country.

Established in 2018, the Forensic Science Laboratory is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Justice.

Participants of the 2023 International Korean Adoptee Associations Gathering pose for a group photo during the opening ceremony at COEX in southern Seoul, July 11. The event will continue until July 16 and the participants will discuss ways to build communities and empower Korean adoptees worldwide. Yonhap

Khammam: District Collector VP Gautham on Monday praised an issueless Italian couple for coming forward to adopt an orphaned child. A Babu from Khammam district childcare center was adopted by them, after all legal formalities, the Collector informed. Gautham stated that children who are below 18 years and are orphans, abandoned or have poor parents can be brought under the adoption process and the adoption process is done by the District Collector as per the rules. He informed that childless couples can approach officials through the website www.cara.nic.in. They can also contact anganwadi teachers, district child welfare department, Sisugruhas to learn about the adoption process. District Welfare Officer G Jyoti, DCPO Vishnu Vandana, Protection Officer Soni and others were present.

 

Victims and campaigners renew calls for state to admit responsibility for historic scandal in light of new evidence

An estimated 185,000 mostly unmarried young women in England and Wales were forced into giving up their babies between 1949 and 1976

Hundreds of women forced to give their babies up for adoption are renewing their calls for the UK government to follow Scotland and Wales in issuing a formal apology, in light of new evidence.

Dr Michael Lambert, a historian at Lancaster University, uncovered archival evidence that he believes shows responsibility does lie with the state.

Lambert told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he believes a lengthy “trail of exchange” within the civil service, and the “final reply”, proves that the government knew “in no uncertain terms” that language like “forced” and “no choice” were being used by adoption agencies. It demonstrates “government involvement” in the process, he added.

The health protection committee of the Russian lower house has reviewed the bill banning “sex change” and supported introducing two amendments to it, parliamentary channel Duma TV reported on Tuesday.

The bill seeks to ban gender reassignment surgery and hormonal treatment except in cases of “congenital physiological deviations”. It will also prohibit changes to official documents on the basis of medical “sex change” certificates.

The proposed amendments will allow to annul marriages in cases when one or both spouses undergoes a “sex change”.

“Those marriages that were registered by a man and a woman, one of whom then ended up of a different sex, will be annulled,” deputy chair of the committee Sergey Leonov told TASS.

The amendment will be retroactive, rendering invalid those marriages where one or both spouses had transitioned before the law’s introduction.

SWIMMING. Parents of a beautiful, large family of 7 children, Trifluvians Joël Lapierre and Julie Joseph wish to adopt 5 Ukrainian children. To make their dream come true, the couple must raise a minimum amount of $80,000 and that is why the father decided to take on a major challenge: swim 40 kilometers in the St. Lawrence River.

Accompanied by swimmer Heidi Levasseur, Joël Lapierre left Thursday morning (July 10) from Saint-Quentin Island, in Trois-Rivières. He will swim to Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade during the day. He should arrive around 4:30 p.m.

The Lapierre family is made up of four biological daughters, a son adopted at birth in Quebec and siblings of two boys adopted in Ukraine in 2012. In September, the couple will fly to Ukraine to go pick up 4 to 5 children.

“We do it because we care about children, particularly children in Ukraine,” says the father. We are committed to providing parents to children who do not have a favorable environment. We don't know our future children. We will be paired with them on site, so we have to spend a few weeks in Ukraine. We're very excited and nervous at the same time, but we know what to expect since we've done it before."

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New Project & Vacancy! Human Rights in Alternative Care

The goal of drastically reducing numbers of children living in institutions around the world has been a key focus of coherent efforts to realise children’s rights for over a decade, with important advances being made. 

Progress is visible through strengthened international standards and greater attention by the Committee on the Rights of the Children, alongside changes in domestic legislation, systems and practices, as well as greater attention to the voices of children and adults impacted by the harms of institutionalized alternative care.

Together, these are all helping to strengthen the fulfilment of children’s rights, not least through greater promotion of positive parenting approaches and wider kinship family support, keeping families together safely, and nurturing quality, community-based alternative care, close to home.

The Gaps