Why Warnock’s law no longer delivers

Catherine Bennett: A couple of reporters have been touring British fertility clinics pretending to be infertile and in search of a sperm donor who would help them create a beautiful and intelligent "perfect" baby.

Hard labour

Controversial childbirth expert Michel Odent now claims that 'industrialised obstetrics' could be to blame for autism and drug abuse. Joanna Moorhead reports.

Welcome to the baby lab

Joanna Moorhead explains why she allowed scientists to experiment on Catriona, her five-month-old daughter.

Medicine’s holy grail

The race is on for an Aids vaccine. The prize? Big bucks, overnight fame - and millions of lives saved. So could a British lab be in the lead? Sarah Boseley reports.

Topic of cancer

The Observer Profile: Richard Doll. He didn't want to be a doctor, but his brilliant medical research has saved more lives than a host of glamorous drug discoveries. Still working at 89, the credit for last week's plummeting cancer figures is entirely his.