April 25, 2006
Writing for a British audience, Oxford professor of pharmacology Susan Greenfield explores a few possible implications of bio-, nano-, and info-technologies on 21st century education, and calls for a diverse coalition to work to consider seriously both the benefits and … Read More
April 24, 2006
If you do an internet search for “suicide depression” you get a ton of results that also include some form of the word prevent. UPI reports, however, that the Dignitas clinic in Zurich, Switzerland “Proposes Assisted Suicide for Depressed.” Dignitas … Read More
April 24, 2006
The Associate Press calls it “an unambiguous victory” for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Established by Proposition 71, the stem cell institute had been challenged as unconstitutional on two grounds: (1) Prop 71 proposed two subjects on a single … Read More
April 21, 2006
“I could see a broader mobilization where people start saying, ‘No, you can’t take my tissues.’ All I can say is, we better deal with the problems now instead of waiting until that happens.” — Kathy Hudson, a molecular biologist … Read More
April 19, 2006
The Philadelphia Business Journal contains an informative article on current stem cell research. The article largely focuses on a new study, funded by New Jersey’s $5 million stem cell research grant program, studying how umbilical cord stem cells can help … Read More
April 17, 2006
Stem Cell Funding Proves Elusive (San Diego Union Tribune) Biotechnology Thrives in India (Science & Theology News) Robot Birth Simulator Gaining Popularity (AP) Taking the Least of You (New York Times) Georgia: Perdue Signs Executive Order on Cord Blood Banks … Read More
April 17, 2006
The Magazine section of the New York Times has an interesting article on human tissue samples and patenting. It’s a long article, but worth your time to read. Patenting is going to be an increasingly thorny issue in the biotech … Read More
April 13, 2006
Brush up on philosophy of mind, neuroscience, linguistics, and psychology at Wikipedia’s Mind and Brain Portal.
April 10, 2006
Australian online newsletter mercatornet.com has a review of The Baby Business: How Money, Science, and Politics Drive the Commerce of Conception.
April 7, 2006
Umbilical Cord Blood: The Future of Stem Cell Research? (National Geographic News) States Stepping in To Underwrite Stem Cell Science (USA Today) Massachusetts Health Care Plan Riles Some Liberals (AP) Now That’s Using Your Brain (Wired News)
April 7, 2006
“People in general think stem cells, stem cells, stem cells, not even realizing there’s different types.” David Harris, University of Arizona microbiology professor and the scientific director of Cord Blood Registry, commenting on common misperceptions about the difference between embryonic … Read More
April 5, 2006
Today scientists from the University of Arizona are hosting a conference on work being done with non-embryonic stem cells. Most of the stem cells involved are derived from cord blood and from fat. “Since 1988, about 35 patients have been … Read More
April 4, 2006
(via Washington Post) Scientists have succeeded in growing new bladders in the lab and have transplanted them into seven patients. The team started by taking biopsy specimens about half the size of a postage stamp from each patient’s malfunctioning bladder. … Read More
April 3, 2006
Science & Theology News is devoting this week to coverage of a newly released “Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer” or STEP. Articles so far: New study casts doubt on medicinal value of prayer Key Quote: “investigators said … Read More
March 29, 2006
Cephos Corporation and No Lie MRI, Inc. will each soon be marketing a new kind of lie detector based on fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging). I’ve mentioned fMRI before, and its potential use as a lie detector. Now people are … Read More
March 27, 2006
(via Washington Post and AP) Saturday’s Washington Post carried an article whose headline trumpeted, “Embryonic Stem Cell Success.” The story reports that German scientists have retrieved cells from the testes of mice and transformed them into cells capable of forming … Read More
March 21, 2006
. . . is a relatively new (and somewhat more precise) term for what used to be called outsourcing. In short, offshoring involves moving business processes (e.g., manufacturing, customer service) to a foreign country in order for a company to … Read More
March 20, 2006
(via National Review Online) Today’s National Review Online carries an opinion piece by Robert George and Eric Cohen encouraging us to view the Korean cloning scandal as an opportunity to rethink stem cell research and cloning. George and Cohen make … Read More
March 20, 2006
(via New York Times) Novelist (and M.D.) Michael Crichton has an essay in yesterday’s New York Times on a patenting case the Supreme Court is to hear tomorrow. In short, a company is claiming that it owns “licensing rights on … Read More
March 15, 2006
(via HealthDay News) Scientists at MIT have restored the vision of brain-damaged hamsters using nanotechnology. They used the tiny particles to build a kind of scaffold so that brain cells could re-grow. One of the main controversies with nanotechnology is … Read More
March 14, 2006
(via Fast Company) Last night I started reading Counting Heads, a science fiction novel where, among other things, science and medicine have eliminated aging (but not evil). According to an article entitled ” The Body: Bulletproof,” the elimination of aging … Read More
March 13, 2006
(via New York Times) While reading “A Wrongful Birth?” from the magazine section of yesterday’s New York Times, I couldn’t thinking about the following quote from The Abolition of Man: “What we call Man’s power over Nature turns out to … Read More
March 13, 2006
(via Journal of Investigative Medicine [PDF]) The January issue of the Journal of Investigative Medicine has an overview of the current state of stem cell research. The brief article is heavily referenced—devoting almost equal space to the text of the … Read More
March 8, 2006
(via Courier-Journal) Dr. Fred Roisen at the University of Louisville has injected adult (non-embryonic) stem cells from a human nose into rats with spinal cord injuries. A video on the Courier-Journal website demonstrates the difference the treatment made by showing … Read More
March 8, 2006
(via Delaware Online) A free, public cord blood bank was unveiled in Delaware on Tuesday. The result of grassroots efforts, The Brady Kohn Foundation, Christiana Care Health System, and The Elie Katz Umbilical Cord Blood Program at Community Blood Services … Read More
