December 22, 2010
Quebec is challenging several sections of the Assisted Human Reproduction Act, claiming parts of the law go too far and infringe on provincial jurisdiction. The province says it has no problem with parts of the law that outlaw chimeras — … Read More
December 22, 2010
A survey conducted by Johns Hopkins faculty found strong support among their peers for working more closely with the minority, inner-city community that surrounds the institution. Overall, 91 percent of faculty responders said closer ties make research more relevant to … Read More
December 22, 2010
The Bioethics Policy Research Center, which held the seminar “From Suffering Death to Meeting Death†at Severance Hospital on Dec. 15, said it has received about 40 calls a day asking for information on what it calls a no-life-support “pledge†… Read More
December 22, 2010
The Roman Catholic bishop of Phoenix stripped a hospital of its Catholic affiliation Tuesday for performing an abortion last year that doctors said was needed to save the life of the mother. (Los Angeles Times)
December 22, 2010
Medical teams in Cambridge, Bristol and Nottingham coordinated treatment to create a baby who was a perfect tissue match and then to use donated cells to treat Megan’s blood disorder. (BBC News)
December 21, 2010
The growth in the number of pediatricians and family physicians has outpaced the growth in the child population in the United States, Dr. Shipman and his colleagues found. Yet the study’s analysis shows that nearly all 50 states have an … Read More
December 21, 2010
The Obama administration issued long-awaited, long-delayed guidelines on Friday to insulate government scientific research from political meddling and to base policy decisions on solid data. Under the guidelines, government scientists are in general free to speak to journalists and the … Read More
December 21, 2010
In a ruling that could be a boon to the medical diagnostics industry, a US federal court upheld a series of patent claims covering methods to determine the best dose of a drug to give to a patient. (Nature)
December 21, 2010
They provide the best evidence possible of whether a drug or other medical intervention works and is safe, but clinical trials are being seriously hindered by regulations that push up costs, consume valuable time and do little to make the … Read More
December 20, 2010
Marjie Popkin thought she had chemo brain, that fuzzy-headed forgetful state that she figured was a result of her treatment for ovarian cancer. She was not thinking clearly — having trouble with numbers, forgetting things she had just heard. (New … Read More
December 20, 2010
Federal regulators took the unusual step Thursday of moving to revoke approval of a drug that women with advanced breast cancer turn to in a last-ditch effort to save their lives. The decision intensifies a politically charged debate over costly … Read More
December 20, 2010
Couples who turn to fertility clinics for help getting pregnant might expect to pay more than $24,000 out-of-pocket for in vitro fertilization (IVF), California researchers find. (Reuters)
December 20, 2010
Costa Rica is one of the few countries in the world where in vitro fertilisation (IVF) is illegal. And the Vatican wants it to stay that way: Pope Benedict XVI himself recently urged the government not to pass a law … Read More
December 20, 2010
When it comes to promoting drugs for the pharmaceutical industry — and getting paid for it — Tennessee doctors as a group rank in the top dozen nationally for the amount of drug company money they’ve pocketed over the past … Read More
December 20, 2010
Reacting to their findings that most young physicians surveyed in France have a Facebook profile, U.S. medical ethics researchers said social networking may compromise physicians’ relationships with patients, according to a study on the Journal of Medical Ethics. (Becker’s Hospital … Read More
December 17, 2010
The New England Journal of Medicine (Volume 363, Issue 22, November 25, 2010) is now available on-line and by subscription only. Articles include: “Medicaid Expansion — The Soft Underbelly of Health Care Reform?” by B.D. Sommers and A.M. Epstein, available … Read More
December 16, 2010
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (Volume 38, Issue 4, Winter 2010) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Physicians Must Honor Refusal of Treatment to Restore Competency by Non-Dangerous Inmates on Death Row” by Howard Zonana, 764–773. “Non-Consensual … Read More
December 16, 2010
On October 5, 2010, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued a report in which it recommended that the proportion of nurses in the United States who hold at least a bachelor’s degree be increased from its current level of 50% … Read More
December 16, 2010
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Irish abortion laws violated the rights of one of three women who sought terminations in Britain. (BBC News)
December 16, 2010
A presidential commission has released a report that recommends White-House level oversight of US research in synthetic biology – but it stops short of calling for new laws or changes to existing regulations that govern the nascent field, whether in … Read More
December 15, 2010
ONE clinical examination should be enough to establish whether a person has no brain activity. A second test is not only unnecessary, but also makes organ donation less likely. (New Scientist)
December 15, 2010
he Catholic bishop of Phoenix will strip St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center of its Catholic status on Friday if the hospital’s parent company, Catholic Healthcare West, does not meet his demands to guarantee compliance with church teachings. (USA TODAY)
December 15, 2010
In passing the Affordable Care Act, the United States took a giant, if partial, step toward joining other nations wherein the right to health constitutes an inalienable moral and legal right. Although not widely appreciated, the right of every person … Read More
December 15, 2010
In the second of her series to mark disability history month, Victoria Brignell investigates America’s past enthusiasm for eugenics and the profound suffering this inflicted on disabled people. (New Statesman)
December 15, 2010
Last April, vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur launched a Facebook campaign to get 50,000 fans for a page it called “Sounds of Pertussis.†The company promised to donate $5,000 to the March of Dimes once the goal was met. (KPBS.org)
