RSSeNEWS to be determined...

Data on the success rates of IVF at different UK clinics has been published selectively "to have an impact", according to quotes attributed to Professor David Spiegelhalter in the Sun newspaper.

The Sun's report said that the figures from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority were 'actually designed to make it tougher for patients to spot the stars and the stragglers'.

Further, it criticised the Authority's policy of promoting single embryo transfers. Its report quoted Spiegelhalter, a high-profile academic and RSS member, as saying that "If you are trying to persuade clinics not to put in multiple embryos, this measure of 'success' will change behaviour".

The newspaper's website carried a link to Spiegelhalter's analysis of the HF&EA stats on Understanding Uncertainty, the website published by the Winton programme for the public understanding of risk based in the Statistical Laboratory in the University of Cambridge.

Understanding Uncertainty's aim is to help improve the way that uncertainty and risk are discussed in society, and show how probability and statistics can be both useful and entertaining.