March 31, 2009
Over the last few decades, we have seen robots created with astonishing capabilities—a humanoid robot that can walk up and down stairs, a robot that can rove on Mars, collect samples, and send images back to Earth, and robots that … Read More
March 31, 2009
Houston doctors have launched the nation’s first experimental trial treating stroke with a patient’s own stem cells, following similar pioneering work in the Texas Medical Center with heart patients and brain-damaged children. (Houston Chronicle)
March 31, 2009
The concept of a polypill for everyone over 55 to cut heart disease by up to 80% was mooted over five years ago, but slow progress has been made since. Now a trial in India shows such a pill has … Read More
March 31, 2009
A newly formed National Bioethics Committee in Gabon is latest fruit of efforts to ensure that the growing number of clinical trials conducted in sub-Saharan Africa does not compromise the safety of research participants. (PharmaTimes)
March 31, 2009
The fight over embryonic stem cell research, until now mainly a battle over clashing values on life and health, has mutated into a hot budget issue in the Senate. Republican budget writers inserted a provision last week that would ban … Read More
March 31, 2009
The American Journal of Bioethics (Volume 9, Issue 4, 2009) is now available by subscription only. Articles Include: “Organizational Needs Versus Ethics Committee Practice” by David Magnus, 1-2. “Screening in the Dark: Ethical Considerations of Providing Screening Tests to Individuals When Evidence … Read More
March 31, 2009
Nanotoxicology (Volume 3, Issue 1, 2009) is now available by subscription only. Articles Include: “Nanomaterials: A challenge for toxicologists” by Alok Dhawan, Vyom Sharma, and Devendra Parmar, 1-8. “Emerging trends of nanoparticles application in food technology: Safety paradigms” by Mukul Das, Neha Saxena, … Read More
March 31, 2009
5th International Conference on Ethical Issues in Biomedical Engineering Brooklyn, New York April 3-5, 2009 Polytechnic Institute of NYU Internationally known speakers from US and overseas will speak on a wide range of diverse topics including: Biomedical Ethics and Education, Ethics of … Read More
March 30, 2009
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine threatens to suck up precious fiscal resources of a state with none to spare and is rife with conflicts of interest. (Los Angeles Times)
March 30, 2009
With $55 million, a collection of frozen human brains and robots capable of processing 192 brain slices a day, the Allen Brain Institute is attempting to do the impossible: systematically map out the expression patterns of more than 20,000 genes … Read More
March 30, 2009
This house believes that people’s DNA sequences are their business, and nobody else’s. (The Economist)
March 30, 2009
Now, Ezekiel Emanuel has become something of a public figure, like his famous siblings, as he pursues a new challenge: trying to help the Obama administration reform the health-care system. It’s an enormously difficult task given the nation’s economic woes, … Read More
March 30, 2009
A stem cell treatment designed to regenerate the heart led to less discomfort and an “improved tolerance” for exercise in patients suffering severe heart disease and chest pain known as angina, a study announced today that is led by Northwestern … Read More
March 27, 2009
Thousands of medical research groups that monitor clinical trials on behalf of the drug industry may face tougher regulations in the wake of a congressional sting operation that found gaps in the nation’s oversight of experiments on humans. (Wall Street … Read More
March 27, 2009
New data from a large federal study have reignited a debate over the effectiveness of long-term drug treatment of children with hyperactivity or attention-deficit disorder, and have drawn accusations that some members of the research team have sought to play … Read More
March 27, 2009
A mandate to purchase health insurance is likely to be part of a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system that Congress hopes to enact by the end of the year, a top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives … Read More
March 27, 2009
Dr. Joseph Biederman, chief of the Massachusetts General Pediatric Psychopharmacology Clinic, is already under investigation by Harvard University and the National Institutes of Health for failing to report income received from drug companies. Now, in newly released court documents, Biederman … Read More
March 27, 2009
The new bill, if approved by the lower house of parliament, would allow people to decide in advance how they want to be treated if they become incapacitated and to state it in a living will. Currently, Italy has no … Read More
March 27, 2009
In the past scientists sometimes managed to publish medical studies flogging the supposed benefits of some or other drug without disclosing that they had financial ties to the drug’s manufacturer. One of the leading voices arguing for full disclosure of … Read More
March 27, 2009
An expert panel has accused Israeli defense officials of “grave ethical failures” in testing an experimental anthrax vaccine on hundreds of Israeli soldiers. (AP)
March 27, 2009
A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers reports that it has created induced human pluripotent stem (iPS) cells completely free of viral vectors and exotic genes. (PhysOrg)
March 27, 2009
JAMA (Volume 301, Number 12, March 25, 2009) is now available by subscription only. Articles Include: “Measuring Preventable Harm: Helping Science Keep Pace With Policy” by Peter J. Pronovost and Elizabeth Colantuoni, 1273-1275. “Health Care Information Technology Vendors’ “Hold Harmless” Clause: Implications … Read More
March 27, 2009
Society for Genomics Policy and Population Health Spring Conference 2009 June 3, 2009 The Spring conference will take place on Wednesday 3 June 2009 at Mary Ward House, Tavistock Place, London. The meeting will discuss:  “What is so special about genes? … Read More
March 27, 2009
World Conference on Bioethics Gijón, Spain May 18th-21st The VI World Conference on Bioethics, organized by the SIBI, will be held in Gijón (Spain) from the 18th to 21st May 2009. The subjects of the Conference will be: 1.  Hunger, Poverty and … Read More
March 26, 2009
The shift in the discussion about Gardasil illustrates the complex interplay of political, economic, scientific, regulatory and social factors that increasingly influence decisions about new types of medical care. For the vaccine, the new dynamic reflects a strategic tack by … Read More
