September 29, 2006
Genetic map reveals how drugs fight diseases
U.S. scientists reported on Thursday an initial success in building an extensive catalog of information about how drugs affect various healthy and diseased cells. (Xinhua)
Monthly Archives: September 2006
September 29, 2006
Egg donors may face unknown pitfalls, stem cell researchers say
The women who donate eggs to California’s $3 billion stem cell research program may take great pride in serving as medical pioneers, but they could also face psychological and health risks that have not been fully explored by scientists, experts … Read More
September 29, 2006
Wisconsin: Stem-cell license waived in-state
Companies sponsoring stem- cell research exclusively in Wisconsin will no longer have to buy a costly license to use the technology under an agreement announced by Gov. Jim Doyle on Thursday. (Wisconsin State Journal)
September 29, 2006
NHGRI Funds Assessment of Public Attitudes About Population-Based Studies on Genes and Environment
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced it has awarded $2 million to the Genetics and Public Policy Center of the Berman Bioethics Institute at Johns Hopkins University to conduct … Read More
September 29, 2006
Op-Ed: Bush’s Conception Conflict
Bush, as we know, believes deeply and earnestly that human life begins at conception. Even tiny embryos composed of a half-dozen microscopic cells, he thinks, have the same right to life as you and I do. (Washington Post)
September 28, 2006
New Bioethics Center
Cedarville University is launching a Center for Bioethics this fall. The official launch is set for early October, but their website is already up and running. The director of the Cedarville Center is Biology Prof, Dennis Sullivan, M.D., who wrote … Read More
September 28, 2006
Organ sales ‘thriving’ in China
The sale of organs taken from executed prisoners appears to be thriving in China, an undercover investigation by the BBC has found. (BBC)
September 28, 2006
Governor Signs Bill Protecting Egg Donors
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday signed a bill designed to protect women who donate their eggs for use in stem cell research. (Los Angeles Times)
September 28, 2006
Diabetes Treatment Fails to Live Up to Promise
The cell transplants did free patients from insulin shots, but only temporarily. Within two years, 86 percent needed insulin again, according to a report being published today in The New England Journal of Medicine. (New York Times)
September 28, 2006
Scientists Form Group to Support Science-Friendly Candidates
Several prominent scientists said yesterday that they had formed an organization dedicated to electing politicians “who respect evidence and understand the importance of using scientific and engineering advice in making public policy.†(New York Times)
September 28, 2006
Is Hysteria Real? Brain Images Say Yes
Functional neuroimaging technologies like single photon emission computerized tomography, or SPECT, and positron emission tomography, or PET, now enable scientists to monitor changes in brain activity. And although the brain mechanisms behind hysterical illness are still not fully understood, new … Read More
September 28, 2006
Op-Ed: Treat Me?
If anything is supposed to be certain in medicine, it’s that people with high cholesterol levels should be treated. But should they? Sifting through the underlying science reveals that the way in which scientists and drug companies describe the benefits … Read More
September 28, 2006
RSS
We’ve been working to improve the RSS feeds on bioethics.com. RSS is a relatively new technology that many people find makes browsing and keeping up with favorite blogs and websites easier. For more on RSS, have a look at the … Read More
September 27, 2006
Egg Donation: Questions & Answers
On a recent business trip, I ran across an ad announcing “immediate availability” of donated eggs that a “sophisticated” couple could purchase for in-vitro fertilization. Meanwhile, USA Today has uncovered that some young women are paying their way through college … Read More
September 27, 2006
3 Missouri Museums Offer Stem Cell Exhibits
The state’s three largest science museums are offering an identical exhibit discussing the scientific view of early stem cell research, just weeks before Missourians vote on a proposal to protect such research in the state. (AP)
September 27, 2006
The Gene Screen
DNA Direct is just one of more than two dozen online genetic-testing services springing up to take advantage of advances in genomics–and the growing willingness of consumers to conduct even their most personal business over the Internet. Launched last year, … Read More
September 27, 2006
Shortage of family doctors predicted by 2020
The number of U.S. medical graduates going into family medicine has been falling — by more than 50 percent from 1997 to 2005 — with many young doctors preferring specialties that pay better and offer more control over work hours. … Read More
September 27, 2006
Surgeons Do 1st Near-Weightless Surgery
A team of French doctors said they successfully operated on a man in near zero-gravity conditions Wednesday on a flight looping in the air like a roller coaster to mimic weightlessness. (AP)
September 27, 2006
UK: Centre to sell human stem cells
The Roslin Cells Centre will develop human stem cell lines to be sold worldwide for testing drugs and developing new medicines. (BBC)
September 27, 2006
Australia: Call for hybrid embryos
The move to permit “hybrid embryos” comes despite the advice of Australia’s chief scientist, who said the process should be banned. Under the private member’s Bill, drafted by Victorian Senator Kay Patterson, any cloned embryos would not be allowed to … Read More
September 27, 2006
Book Review: Contemporary Issues in Bioethics: A Catholic Perspective
Bioethics and theology have had a rocky relationship. While bioethics was born out of theological reflection, and its major practitioners were originally theologians, it quickly came to be dominated by philosophy and law and their practitioners. One of the consequences … Read More
September 26, 2006
Paul Allen’s Digital Brain
Whether they’re at a university, a pharmaceutical company or in high school, scientists around the world now have an intricate digital atlas of the brain at their fingertips. (Wired)
September 26, 2006
Stroke Trials’ History Shows Bias Toward Good News
Negative and even neutral findings from stroke trials are less likely to be published than positive findings, according to new research. (HealthDay)
September 26, 2006
Aging inmates bring increased ailments, expenses
The cost for Michigan taxpayers to provide inmates’ medical care has shot up by 65 percent, from $115 million in 1997 to a projected $190 million next year. That’s partly because the inmates on average are older and therefore less … Read More
September 26, 2006
Health insurance is twice inflation rate
Workers won’t find much comfort in the smallest increase in health insurance premiums since 1999. The 7.7 percent increase this year was still more than twice the rate of inflation. (AP)
