December 23, 2014
(BBC) – A new genetics project could help “unlock a series of secrets about devastating diseases”, the NHS says. Under the scheme, 11 Genomics Medicine Centres are being set up in English hospitals to gather DNA samples to help devise … Read More
December 23, 2014
(Reuters) – A North Carolina law requiring women seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound of the fetus performed and described to them is unconstitutional because it forces doctors to voice the state’s message discouraging the procedure, a U.S. appeals … Read More
December 23, 2014
(The Atlantic) – Scott Buckley, the director of legal services at Circle Surrogacy, which has facilities in four states in the U.S. and Sweden, said depending on circumstances like egg donation, sperm donation, along with agency and clinic fees, surrogacy … Read More
December 23, 2014
(Medical Xpress) – The Dominican Republic on Friday approved a law that for the first time decriminalizes abortions if the mother’s life is at risk. The measure goes into effect late next year and is part of a new penal … Read More
December 23, 2014
(Star Tribune) – Carl Elliott would argue that he’s simply doing what he was hired to do. After all, he’s paid to teach and write about medical ethics. But if he didn’t have tenure, he admits, he’d probably lose his … Read More
December 23, 2014
(Stuff.co.nz) – Groundbreaking medical ethics debate could determine whether a brave and inspiring Auckland teenager can father a child – even though he died 11 years ago. Promising young film-maker Cameron Duncan banked sperm at age 15 before starting chemotherapy … Read More
December 23, 2014
(Los Angeles Times) – Opening a new chapter in the use of genomic science to fight cancer, the Food & Drug Administration on Friday approved olaparib, a medication for advanced ovarian cancer associated with a defective BRCA gene. The new … Read More
December 23, 2014
(CBS Sports) – After suffering a major stroke in late October, the health of Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe seemed to be rapidly deteriorating. But lately there have been reports that his condition has been steadily improving to the … Read More
December 22, 2014
(Washington Post) – When a hospice patient has chosen to die at home, as they typically do, the days immediately before death are typically the most difficult, and the time when families most need a visiting nurse. But many U.S. … Read More
December 22, 2014
(Johns Hopkins) – How many doctors should have to sign off before a transgender person is allowed to get sex reassignment surgery? A newly published paper calls into question the ethics of the current protocol, which requires that transgender people … Read More
December 22, 2014
(ABC News) – A federal jury ruled Friday that a northern Indiana Roman Catholic diocese discriminated against a former teacher in one of its schools by firing her after church officials learned she was trying to get pregnant through in … Read More
December 22, 2014
(Daily Mail) – Levy Izhak Rosenbaum, who ran a black market kidney business paid Israeli donors $10,000 each for kidneys that he sold to Americans for $120,000, has been released from prison. He called himself the ‘Robin Hood of kidneys,’ … Read More
December 22, 2014
(Deutsche Welle) – In a landmark case made public on Friday, the German high court in Karlsruhe watered down legislation forbidding surrogacy in Germany. Although women are still prohibited from using their wombs to bring another couple’s child to term, … Read More
December 22, 2014
(Deutsche Welle) – A majority of the members of Germany’s Ethics Council rejects organized assisted suicide carried out with the help of doctors or other professionals, a statement issued on Friday said. Such services should be banned “when they are … Read More
December 22, 2014
(Taipei Times) – A former Chinese vice minister’s offer to help set up a mechanism to facilitate organ donations from China to Taiwan should be viewed with caution, considering its legal and political implications, officials and the head of an … Read More
December 22, 2014
(Health News Digest) – As the American Nurses Association (ANA) embarks on a yearlong campaign to highlight the importance of nursing ethics and their impact on patients and health care quality, the annual Gallup survey on trust in professions shows the … Read More
December 22, 2014
(Union Times San Diego) – Researchers including scientists from San Diego’s ViaCyte say they’ve engineered immune tolerance to pancreatic tissue derived from human embryonic stem cells, grafted into humanized mouse models. The treatment, if it works in people, could help … Read More
December 22, 2014
(Phys.org) – Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have gained new insight into embryonic stem cells and how blocking their ability to make choices explains why they stay as stem cells in culture. The results have just been published in … Read More
December 22, 2014
(Nanotechnology Now) – Human cells are protected by a largely impenetrable molecular membrane, but researchers have built the first artificial transporter protein that carries individual atoms across membranes, opening the possibility of engineering a new class of smart molecules with … Read More
December 19, 2014
(Science) – A Japanese team announced Friday in Tokyo that it has been unable to reproduce a new, astoundingly simple way of generating pluripotent stem cells, despite working directly with the lead author on the Nature papers reporting the breakthrough … Read More
December 19, 2014
(Wired) – Treating patients with the deadly Ebola virus takes doctors, drugs, and a whole lot of chlorine. The Ebola treatment units being deployed across Sierra Leone are built by teams of logisticians—“logs” in disaster aid parlance—who can drop into … Read More
December 19, 2014
(BBC) – A stem cell therapy has been approved for widespread medical use in the EU for the first time. Stem cells can become any type of tissue in the body and hold huge promise in medicine. The treatment – Holoclar … Read More
December 19, 2014
(NPR) – NPR and ProPublica have been investigating the increase in so-called “wage garnishment” by credit card and other companies. For this story, we looked specifically at nonprofit hospitals and found the practice widespread in five different states around the … Read More
December 19, 2014
(Medical Xpress) – And technologies such as IVF, egg donation and egg freezing allow women to beat the biological clock, freeing them from the tyranny of their own biology. A recent Newsweek headline, for example, announced that women can now … Read More
December 19, 2014
(The Telegraph) – A US man has made history by becoming the first double amputee to control two shoulder-level prosthetic arms with his mind. A groundbreaking experiment by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Maryland has enabled Les … Read More
