College President, Professor Martin Johnson and his colleagues at the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, have published a paper on the history of 'test tube' babies that has attracted media attention. The paper, which may be seen free at http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/papbyrecent.dtl, explores hitherto unresearched archival documents to investigate why the Medical Research Council of the UK did not fund the work by Bob Edwards and Patrick Steptoe that led to the birth of Louise Brown exactly 32 years ago last Sunday (25th July). Professor John Biggers in a commentary says: "The paper by Martin Johnson and his colleagues is unique. By taking us back 40 years, the authors have demonstrated the importance of understanding a decision in light of the culture and circumstances at the time the decision was made. Although the grant was rejected, Edwards and Steptoe's visions and persistence have benefitted an enormous number of infertile people, both male and female."