December 20, 2009
New Issue of Dialog is Now Available
Dialog (Volume 48, Issue 4, Winter 2009) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Healthcare is about Bodies and Bodyselves” by Phillip Hefner, 309-311.
Monthly Archives: December 2009
December 20, 2009
New Issue of Bioethics is Now Available
Bioethics (Volume 24, Issue 1, January 2010) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Research on Prisoners- A Comparison Between the IOM Committee Recommendations (2006) and European Regulations” by Bernice S. Elger and Anne Spaulding, 1-13. “Detained and Drugged: … Read More
December 18, 2009
Genome to Hormones: The Top 10 Medical Advances of the Decade
The first decade of the 21st century brought a number of discoveries, mistakes and medical advances that influenced medicine from the patient’s bedside to the medicine cabinet. In some cases, these advances changed deeply rooted beliefs in medicine. In others, … Read More
December 18, 2009
Genetic Lessons From a Prolific Sperm Donor
Maxey, 51, happens to be one of the most prolific sperm donors in the country. Between 1980 and 1994, he donated at a Michigan clinic twice a week. He’s looked at the records of his donations, multiplied by the number … Read More
December 18, 2009
FDA Panel Recommendation on Crestor Spurs Debate
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel’s recommendation that some adults with no prior heart problems should take the cholesterol-busting statin Crestor appears to have pitted cardiologists against many primary care physicians over the best use of the popular drug. … Read More
December 18, 2009
Wales seeks organ opt-out powers
Wales could become the first part of the UK introduce an opt-out system of organ donation under plans by the assembly government. It would mean that Welsh residents would be presumed to be organ donors unless they have joined an … Read More
December 18, 2009
Shinya Yamanaka Crucial to Bay Area’s Role in Stem Cell Research
When Dr. Shinya Yamanaka arrived in the United States from Japan in 1993, he recalled recently, he was “half a scientist, half a failed surgeon.†A disaffected doctor with a newly minted Ph.D. in pharmacology, he had but one job … Read More
December 18, 2009
Op-Ed: Clash of medicine and ethics
The Israeli government deserves congratulation for its courage and innovation in adopting a radical new approach to the problem of organ transplantation.The shortage of organs available for transplant is a global problem and is getting worse. But its move pushes … Read More
December 18, 2009
Videos may aid end-of-life care decisions
Videos that depict different options for end-of-life care may help terminally ill cancer patients decide on what they want, a new study suggests. (Reuters)
December 17, 2009
New Issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association is Now Available
JAMA (Volume 302; Number 22; December 9, 2009) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Relationships of Primary Care Physicians’ Patient Caseload with Measurement of Quality and Cost Performance” by David J. Nyweide, William B. Weeks, Daniel J. Gottlieb, … Read More
December 17, 2009
Women without partners will soon be able to freeze ova
Women aged 30 to 40 who have no partner but want to conceive once they do, will be permitted, in up to half a year, to have ova removed and frozen until they are ready to become mothers. This major … Read More
December 17, 2009
Obama’s Bioethics Commission – We Still Need Philosophical Debate
Science and ethics are inextricably linked, and it is sometimes unclear whether science can be considered friend or foe. Despite a history riddled with examples of destruction at the hands of scientific ingenuity (the atomic bomb) or simple moral disregard … Read More
December 17, 2009
‘Retrograde’ closure of bioethics body criticised
The Irish Council for Bioethics is to close at the end of this month after a decision by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to terminate its funding. (The Irish Times)
December 17, 2009
Dissent over animal to human transplants
The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council should have consulted the public before giving the green light to xenotransplantation, says a former member of the Council. (ABC Science)
December 17, 2009
Stem-cell research leaving minorities behind?
Scientists using stem cells to chase cures for disease and to repair debilitating injuries may be unknowingly focused on only part of the world’s population — mostly that with northern and western European ancestry, according to a new study by … Read More
December 17, 2009
Stem cell company launches commercial product
Cellular Dynamics International’s iCell Cardiomyocytes beat like a human heart and can be used early in the development of new drugs to determine whether they will be effective or toxic to people, the company said in a news release. (JSOnline)
December 17, 2009
Consent issue dogs stem-cell approval
The US expansion of federal funding for human embryonic stem-cell research is being hampered by details in consent forms. Earlier this month, researchers celebrated the government’s approval of funding for a broad variety of work on 13 stem-cell lines — … Read More
December 16, 2009
Op-Ed: State shouldn’t over-regulate stem cell research
A year after Michigan voters approved the broader use of donated embryos for stem cell research, some state legislators are seeking to put limits on the science. Since the voters already have spoken, Lansing shouldn’t meddle in this promising research. … Read More
December 16, 2009
Irish court rules against woman in frozen embryo appeal
An Irish woman has lost her legal battle to have three of her frozen embryos released to her. The Supreme Court in the Republic of Ireland dismissed the appeal which was taken by a 43-year-old mother. (BBC News)
December 16, 2009
Glaxo Discloses Doctor Payments For First Time
All the pressure on drugmakers to fess up publicly about the money they pay doctors is, er, paying off. Just take a look at GlaxoSmithKline’s first-ever report on how much it forked over to U.S. doctors and other health professionals … Read More
December 15, 2009
US Healthcare: Ethicist Callahan: ‘Set Limits’ On Health Care
For decades, ethicist Daniel Callahan has argued that expensive medical care be parceled out carefully – essentially rationed – for elderly patients. Now, at 79, his quest to stem late-in-life spending is coming face to face with his own mortality. … Read More
December 15, 2009
Checkup: Medical journal faults reporting on health issues
It would be nice to think that you could trust journalists to deliver the straight scoop when it comes to covering health news. But sometimes we don’t. Journalists’ getting health stories wrong is the subject of an editorial published online … Read More
December 15, 2009
Who gets expensive cancer drugs? A tale of two nations
The well-worn notion that patients in the United States have unfettered access to the most expensive cancer drugs while the United Kingdom’s nationalized health care system regularly denies access to some high-cost treatments needs rethinking, a team of bioethicists and … Read More
December 15, 2009
Event: “Progress in Bioethics” Presentation
Please join the Center for American Progress for a special presentation: Progress in Bioethics: Science, Policy, and Politics January 7, 2010, 12:00pm – 1:30pm Admission is free. RSVP to attend this event Featured panelists: Sam Berger, JD Candidate, Yale Law … Read More
December 15, 2009
New Issue of The American Journal of Bioethics is Now Available
The American Journal of Bioethics (Volume 9, Issue 12, 2009) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “On the Healthcare Question” by Constantine A. Manthous, 1-3. “A Duty to Deceive: Placebos in Clinical Practice” by Bennett Foddy, 4-12. “Medicine’s … Read More
