January 31, 2008
I have been warning anyone who will listen about the coming huge policy fight over medical futility–what I call Futile Care Theory–that allows a doctor to refuse wanted life sustaining treatment when the doctor doesn’t believe that the quality of … Read More
January 31, 2008
Ignoring that New Jersey voters recently rejected a $450 boondoggle bond issue to pay for embryonic stem cell research, New York State is funding the research to the tune of $600 million without even giving the people a chance to … Read More
January 31, 2008
In a pre-emptive move to avert a debate over ethics, the education ministry will temporarily ban research to produce reproductive cells from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, sources said. The ministry is expected to make a formal decision when it … Read More
January 31, 2008
Pope Benedict said on Thursday that embryonic stem cell research, artificial insemination and the prospect of human cloning had “shattered” human dignity. (Scientific American)
January 31, 2008
I do not expect health care to be perfect. I do not expect someone with cancer to have an enjoyable experience. I am not threatening to sue anyone, or even to suggest that the care my father received was anything … Read More
January 31, 2008
The government is looking into calls to lift a ban on creating human or human-animal “hybrid” embryos from dying children to aid key research. The current Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill would not allow the procedure to take place unless … Read More
January 31, 2008
Eli Lilly and federal prosecutors are discussing a settlement of a civil and criminal investigation into the company’s marketing of the antipsychotic drug Zyprexa that could result in Lilly’s paying more than $1 billion to federal and state governments. (New … Read More
January 31, 2008
The demise of California’s attempt at comprehensive health-care reform this week means that advocates of overhauling the health-care system will turn their focus back to Washington, several experts said yesterday, as an increasingly tough budget climate raises new questions about … Read More
January 31, 2008
British scientists are ready to turn female bone marrow into sperm, cutting men out of the process of creating life. The breakthrough paves the way for lesbian couples to have children that are biologically their own. (Daily Mail)
January 30, 2008
More of this please. California regulators have hit Pacificare with a huge fine. From the story: After an unprecedented eight-month joint state probe triggered by hundreds of complaints, state health insurance regulators Tuesday slapped the PacifiCare unit of UnitedHealthcare with … Read More
January 30, 2008
Newsman Mike Wallace is recovering from a triple bypass surgery. Why is this a matter of interest other than to wish him well? Because under age-dictated health care rationing of the kind practiced in the UK and urged upon us … Read More
January 30, 2008
As it turns out, Dr. Zigler had more than a medical interest in the outcome. So did doctors at about half of the 17 research centers involved in the study. They stood to profit financially if the Prodisc succeeded, according … Read More
January 30, 2008
The Brazilian city of Recife is to distribute morning-after pills to women during carnival after public prosecutors on Tuesday rejected a Catholic Church lawsuit claiming the initiative promoted sex and provided “abortions.” (Yahoo! News)
January 30, 2008
As the anesthetic wore off, Naseem Mohammed said, he felt an acute pain in the lower left side of his abdomen. Fighting drowsiness, he fumbled beneath the unfamiliar folds of a green medical gown and traced his fingers over a … Read More
January 30, 2008
Japan will temporarily ban scientists from making human reproductive cells from stem cells, a move aimed at heading off an ethical dispute, the Asahi newspaper reported in its English-language edition. (Bloomberg)
January 30, 2008
BRISBANE is about to become one of the first centres in the world to offer stem-cell therapy for unborn babies with brittle bone disease, a life-shortening and disabling genetic condition. (The Courier-Mail)
January 30, 2008
An increasingly complex web of technology, regulations and aging patients has compelled the health care industry to create a new type of nurse trained to lead others through the maze. (Memphis Daily News)
January 30, 2008
The Stem Cell Ballot Question Committee in Michigan wants to authorize the use of excess or unsuitable embryos from fertility clinics that “would otherwise be discarded unless they are used for research.†In contrast to legislation designed to open up … Read More
January 30, 2008
The unearthing of an illegal kidney trade in Gurgaon, a Delhi suburb, could have hardly come as a surprise since India has long been notorious for being the ‘warehouse for kidneys’—a great kidney bazaar. Even less surprising was the fact … Read More
January 29, 2008
In the Netherlands, doctors sometimes euthanize babies born with spina bifida. There (and here), doctors sometimes refuse to treat them so that they will die. But now, a new journal article calls expose these lethal actions and non actions as … Read More
January 29, 2008
The California Senate’s health committee effectively killed an ambitious proposal to create a near-universal health-care system, dealing a major political defeat yesterday to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and a setback to similar efforts nationally. (Washington Post)
January 29, 2008
There are companies that offer to extract and store stem cells from adult blood, from fat removed by liposuction, from children’s baby teeth after they fall out and from leftover embryos at fertility clinics. But some experts say consumers should … Read More
January 29, 2008
The use of a drug used in cancer treatment activates stem cells that differentiate into bone appears to cause regeneration of bone tissue and be may be a potential treatment strategy for osteoporosis, according to a report in the February … Read More
January 29, 2008
When several patients with Aids died after an experimental drug trial at Ditan Hospital in Beijing in 2003, human rights activists and local media turned on the pharmaceutical group involved. (Financial Times)
January 29, 2008
President George W. Bush said Monday the US is increasing funds for “ethical” stem cell research that does not involve destroying human embryos. (AFP)
