Bioethics in the News – Thursday, February 23, 2006

February 23, 2006

Fake Findings Used to Secure $16M Grant (via Pittsburg Tribune Review)

University of Pittsburgh scientist Gerald Schatten received a $16.1 million, 5-year grant from the National Institutes of Health based largely on the now discredited South Korean cloning research. The grant is to fund cloning and embryonic stem cell experiments in monkeys and with existing federally approved stem cell lines. The work is to take place at the Magee-Womens Research Institute, which is currently under construction in Oakland, California. The future of the grant is uncertain given the recent developments in the world of cloning, but serious questions need to be examined before public monies are spent. The Pittsburg Tribune Review has done a public service by obtaining the grant application documents through a Freedom of Information Act request and bringing attention to the matter.

Innovation in Healthcare Cost Evaluation (via New York Times)

With much talk of health insurance moving toward Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and other systems that would shift some if not most of the responsibility for evaluating the costs of healthcare to consumers, website WebMD is positioning itself to be a resource for those evaluations.

WebMD says it has signed contracts with big health insurers and employers to operate private-access sites where employees can keep track of their medical records, look up information about diseases and compare costs and ratings for doctors and hospitals.

In principle, the competition these kinds of entrepreneurial ideas bring can help the kind of transition that HSAs represent, but great care is necessary to ensure that present inequities are not perpetuated due to a lack of access to or familiarity with computers or the internet. Perhaps this is but one of many innovations that can bring good information to patients.

Quick Links and Other News Items of Interest

Fake Findings Used to Secure $16M Grant (via Pittsburg Tribune Review)
WebMD Wants to Go Beyond Information (New York Times)
‘Pharmed’ goats seek drug licence (BBC)
S.D. Abortion Bill Takes Aim at ‘Roe’ (Washington Post)
Twins More Likely for Older Mums (BBC)
Twins Nation (Chicago Tribune)