January 24, 2007
A survey released this week by the nonprofit Markle Foundation finds patients enthusiastic about being able to access their health information online. A vast majority say they would use this information to prevent unnecessary care and take better care of … Read More
January 23, 2007
A team of South Korean scientists has grown pancreatic beta cells, which can help treat diabetes, from stem cells taken from the umbilical cord blood of new born babies. (The Korea Times)
January 23, 2007
Doctors have recommended forcibly detaining people in South Africa who refuse treatment for a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis, an extreme measure meant to keep the infected away from others to curb the spread of the disease, according to a paper … Read More
January 23, 2007
A mother’s cells may try to repair the tissue damage in an unborn child that can result in type 1 diabetes, research suggests. (BBC)
January 23, 2007
I carry the card in the glove compartment of my car. It is not a Valentine’s card from my wife, or a graduation card from my mother. It is a simple greeting card, with a cheerful watercolor of wildflowers, sent … Read More
January 23, 2007
As the self-described “man who would not die,†the humor columnist Art Buchwald was a strange bedfellow with the hospice movement. But in the months between the end of his extended hospice stay and his death from kidney failure on … Read More
January 23, 2007
A 27-year-old man with a disfiguring disease has become the second person to have a partial face transplant in France in just over a year. (Reuters)
January 23, 2007
Doug Metcalfe cut the umbilical cord immediately after Jen Betts gave birth to baby Sara. It had been a difficult pregnancy, and everyone was relieved that the delivery, though a few weeks early, had gone well. (USA Today)
January 23, 2007
Darleen Falke of Dudley knows how desperately people need stem cell transplants. She saw them every day when she worked at UMass Memorial Medical Center’s bone marrow transplant unit six years ago and she sees them now in her work … Read More
January 23, 2007
The mechanized “angels” – being developed by EU-funded scientists – will perform basic tasks such as mopping up spillages, taking messages and guiding visitors to hospital beds. They could also be used to distribute medicines and even monitor the temperature … Read More
January 22, 2007
In a stark office at Mt. Sinai Medical Center last summer, Mark Foster sat on a leather couch alongside his parents, scared into silence. The question he faced: Should he donate half his liver to save his father’s life? (Wall … Read More
January 22, 2007
Say you’re a woman who wants to have fertility treatment but can’t afford the $5,000 to $6,000 cost. What if you could get it for half-price, by agreeing to donate half the eggs you produce for stem cell research? Interested? … Read More
January 22, 2007
Altruism, one of the most difficult human behaviors to define, can be detected in brain scans, U.S. researchers reported on Sunday. (Reuters)
January 22, 2007
The identification by U.S. scientists of genes thought to be key to autoimmune disorders could be a big step toward new treatments for these illnesses, which include lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes. (HealthDay)
January 22, 2007
Health care for all – an elusive goal that has tantalized presidents and governors for decades – is roaring back this year with ambitious proposals in a handful of prominent states. (AP)
January 22, 2007
A new study sheds light on the hardships that cancer patients are willing to endure in the hope of a cure — as well as the communication gap between patients and their doctors. (USA Today)
January 22, 2007
Drug advertising aimed at consumers, a fast-growing category that reached $4.5 billion last year, will face hard scrutiny in the new Congress, according to industry critics in both the House and Senate. (New York Times)
January 22, 2007
At first glance, Roger Behm looks like an independent guy who sees the world with a rather sharp sense of humor. But he’s actually seen nothing since he was a young man. (CBS)
January 22, 2007
A “data cable” made from stretched nerve cells could someday help connect computers to the human nervous system. The modified cells should form better connections with human tissue than the metal electrodes currently used for purposes such as remotely controlling … Read More
January 22, 2007
Bryan Appleyard’s How to Live Forever or Die Trying offers an intriguing look at the geeky, freeze-dried, pill-popping world of people who want to go on and on. (The Observer)
January 16, 2007
Louise Brown, who was the world’s first “test-tube” baby, has given birth to her first child. (Fox News)
January 16, 2007
Rescued from a great flood while he was just a frozen embryo in liquid nitrogen, a baby boy entered the world Tuesday and was named after the most famous flood survivor of them all, Noah. (AP)
January 12, 2007
Our hope is that these cells will provide a valuable resource for tissue repair and for engineered organs as well. I feel these cells are pluripotent like human embryonic stem cells. — Dr. Anthony Atala of the Institute for Regenerative … Read More
January 12, 2007
This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the scientific paper announcing the birth of Dolly the sheep, the first clone of an adult mammal. Since Dolly, who died four years ago, scientists have used the same technique that produced her … Read More
January 12, 2007
You don’t need religion to tremble at the thought of unrestricted embryo research. You simply have to have a healthy respect for the human capacity for doing evil in pursuit of the good. (Washington Post)
