May 17, 2012
Colourblind artist wants cyborg eye in Irish passport
A colourblind artist from Barcelona is hoping Irish authorities will allow him to be photographed for his passport wearing an electronic eye. Â (Belfast Telegraph)
April Ponto
Posts by April Ponto:
May 17, 2012
Missouri House endorses health care legislation
The Missouri House approved legislation Wednesday that would allow health care workers, medical centers and others to refuse to provide contraception or carry out procedures that violate their religious or ethical beliefs. Â (stltoday)
May 17, 2012
Assembly Member Paulin Pushes To Legalize Gestational Carriers In New York
Assembly member Amy R. Paulin (D-88th A.D.), chair of the Children and Families Committee, is introducing The Child-Parent Security Act to update New York law to make it easier to establish parentage in cases of assisted reproductive technology. Â (Nyack-Piermont Patch)
May 17, 2012
Paralyzed Woman Moves Robot with Her Mind
Using an advanced brain-machine interface, quadriplegic Cathy Hutchinson can steer a robotic arm towards a bottle, pick it up, and drink her morning coffee. The interface is described in the journal Nature. Â (Scientific American)
May 17, 2012
Abortion patients sue clinic for passing on hep C
FIFTY women who contracted hepatitis C after having abortions at a Melbourne clinic yesterday launched a class action in the Supreme Court of Victoria. Â (The Australian)
May 17, 2012
Call for action by parliament on euthanasia
When he talks about euthanasia, Professor Bob Douglas borrows a line from a former health minister by saying it’s an issue that has politicians ”hiding under their desks”. Â (The Canberra Times)
May 17, 2012
Call for mandatory childhood vaccination
Childhood vaccination should be made mandatory to prevent parents’ bad choices putting other vulnerable children at risk, an expert has argued.  (Australian Doctor)
May 16, 2012
New Issue of The New England Journal of Medicine is Now Available
The New England Journal of Medicine (Volume 366, Issue 19, May 10, 2012) is now available on-line and by subscription only. Articles include: “Reproductive Technologies and the Risk of Birth Defects” by M.J. Davies et al, 1803-1813.
May 16, 2012
New Issue of The New England Journal of Medicine is Now Available
The New England Journal of Medicine (Volume 366, Issue 18, May 3, 2012) is now available on-line and by subscription only. Articles include: “From an Ethics of Rationing to an Ethics of Waste Avoidance” by Howard Brody, available on-line. “Becoming … Read More
May 16, 2012
Catholic college drops health plan over contraception mandate
A small Catholic college in Ohio said Tuesday it was dropping health insurance coverage for students rather than comply with a federal mandate that the plan provide free birth control. Â (Reuters)
May 16, 2012
Moscow urges Kosovo to investigate organ trafficking allegations
Moscow calls for “…a full investigation into the crimes alleged to have been committed in Kosovo, including illegal human organ trafficking.” This was stated at a meeting of the UN Security Council by Russia’s permanent representative to the UN Vitaly Churkin.  (The … Read More
May 16, 2012
Business up at fertility clinics
When Martha and Matt Merrill tried in-vitro fertilization at UW Health’s Generations Fertility Care, doctors implanted only one embryo. Daughter Harper was born in April 2011. Â (Wisconsin State Journal)
May 16, 2012
Risk of birth defects higher for ICSI compared with IVF
In a study identifying the risk of major birth defects associated with different types of assisted reproductive technology, Australian researchers have reported a significantly higher risk of birth defects involving intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) compared to in vitro fertilization (IVF). … Read More
May 16, 2012
Gender Selection Procedure at Vejthani Hospital
Vejthani Hospital Bangkok recommends a gender selection procedure for a couple who desire to choose a child’s gender at Vejthani ART Center. Â (Business Wire)
May 16, 2012
Use embryos for research, says survey
ALMOST half of South Australians believe embryos left over from fertility treatment should be used for research, a survey has found. Â (The Advertiser)
May 16, 2012
Fertility preservation and sex reassignment: should reproductive rights cross gender boundaries?
Sex reassignment is an intricate and sensitive physiological, psychological, and social process that usually entails the loss of reproductive capacity. Reproductive technology can prevent this loss, but should it be used for that purpose? A recent case in Israel raises … Read More
May 16, 2012
Obesity May Lead to Shortage of Organs for Transplantation
A new study has indicated that people who suffer from morbid obesity may be contributing to a shortage of organs for donation and may actually be decreasing the amount of living kidney donors available to give to others. Â (The Inquisitr)
May 16, 2012
FDA Panel Backs HIV Home Test
A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Tuesday asked the agency to let an HIV test be sold in retail stores so consumers don’t have to go to a health facility to get tested for the virus. Â (The Wall … Read More
May 16, 2012
FDA weighs prescriptions without medical visits
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering a move that would allow patients to obtain prescription medications without ever seeing a doctor. Instead, patients would use technology to evaluate their needs. Â (amednews)
May 16, 2012
Kansas governor signs bill allowing pharmacists to refuse abortion drugs
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback [official website] has signed a bill [SB 62 materials] allowing pharmacists to refuse to dispense drugs that they “reasonably believe” might result in the termination of a pregnancy, his office announced [press release] Monday. Critics of … Read More
May 16, 2012
Should Parents Be Able To Sue For ‘Wrongful Birth’?
Several states, including Kansas and New Jersey, are debating so-called “wrongful birth” laws that would prevent parents from suing a doctor who fails to warn them about fetal problems. Â (NPR News)
May 16, 2012
To test or not to test? Include the patient first
Shannon Brownlee’s recent post, “Don’t discard shared decision making on the basis of PSA testing,â€Â couldn’t ring more true. The crux of shared decision making is that the patient must decide, with his or her physician, which tests or procedures make … Read More
May 16, 2012
The Benefits And Risks Of Direct-To-Consumer Genetics Tests
Patients see potential benefits from direct-to-consumer genetic testing, but are also concerned about how the test results will be used, and generally are unwilling to pay more than $10 or $20 for them, according to focus groups conducted by researchers … Read More
May 15, 2012
New Issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association is Now Available
The Journal of the American Medical Association (Volume 307, Issue 16, April 2012) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Sharing Clinical Data Electronically: A Critical Challenge for Fixing the Health Care System” by Julia Adler-Milstein and Ashish K. … Read More
May 15, 2012
College or Funeral Is Mother’s Wish Denied on DNA Results
Camilla Grondahl asked genetics researcher Gholson Lyon a simple, heartbreaking question: Was she carrying a lethal gene that might kill her unborn baby?  Grondahl, 29, didn’t want to terminate her pregnancy, which began in 2010. She just wanted to know … Read More
