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The winner of this year’s Leena Peltonen prize, to be awarded at the ESHG annual meeting being held in Gothenburg, Sweden, is Nicola (Nicky) Whiffin, an Associate Professor at the Big Data Institute and Centre for Human Genetics at the University of Oxford, UK.

As part of its commitment to advancing high-quality patient care and evidence-based genetic testing, the ESHG has submitted its contribution to the European Commission's consultation on the targeted revision of the EU rules governing medical devices and in vitro diagnostics (IVDR).

Craig Venter, who died from cancer on 29 April, was best known for his role in the mapping of the human genome, first published in 2000 and for which he shared the credit with the international publicly-funded Human Genome Project. After joining the US National Institutes of Health in 1984, he developed an innovative DNA sequencing machine and became the first person in the world to publish a paper containing data obtained by an automatic sequencing machine.

Help Shape the Future of Quality in Genetic and Genomic Healthcare Across Europe. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to high impact work that strengthens quality, supports harmonisation, and shapes professional standards across Europe (https://www.eshg.org/egt). EuroGentest plays a central role in promoting quality in genetic services.

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Albert Schinzel (1944-2025), a former President of the ESHG and the European Cytogeneticists Association. A pioneer in clinical cytogenetics, his work led to the discovery and documentation of numerous correlations between aberrant karyotypes and abnormal development.

Biology determines that people with XY chromosomes usually follow a developmental pathway in which testosterone, most notably,  impacts the muscle mass, bone development  and lung capacity that are relevant for speed, power and endurance. While it is clearly unfair that individuals with such sporting advantages  should compete against individuals without such a developmental pathway (‘males’ vs ‘females’), this does not always equate to an absolute definition of sex or gender.

ESHG welcomes forthcoming consultations on Greek newborn screening programme The announcement that the Greek government has put its proposed newborn genetic screening programme on hold while scientists produce proposals for a regulatory framework is very welcome, as is the news that public discussions on the scientific, ethical, legal and societal implications of using genomic sequencing in this way will now take place.

Newborn screening in Greece – time for openness and transparency The news that the Greek government has entrusted newborn screening to private organisations raises many concerns. Newborn screening is a vital public health initiative, and significant efforts are being made to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of programmes across Europe.

There is a vacancy for two individuals, one from Asia and one from Oceania with neoplasia experience. Sarah Moore and Jin-Yeong Han (representing Oceania and Asia respectively) have recently stepped down from the ISCN Standing Committee as they have completed their term of office. Consequently, the ISCN standing committee is looking for new members to join the current committee. The position is non-remunerable and for a period of four years in the first instance.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Health Equity Guiding Principles for Inclusive Communication emphasise the importance of addressing all people inclusively and respectfully. The US Government administration’s move to purge mentions of gender in studies where authors are researchers employed by federal government institutions demonstrates a failure of understanding of scientific research and the role of journals.