October 22, 2013
A friend recently brought to my attention a disturbing question from a psychiatrist working with a transplant team: Should she be checking the sobriety claims of liver transplant candidates by looking on their Twitter and other social media sites? That … Read More
October 2, 2013
This September marked a peculiar anniversary: It’s now been 30 years since Ronald Reagan got fitted for a hearing aid in the Oval Office. Not unlike Katie Couric’s live colonoscopy 17 years later, Reagan’s fitting was a watershed moment for hearing … Read More
October 1, 2013
After their son’s suicide, one Wisconsin couple was desperate for answers. They tried to log into his e-mail and Facebook accounts but failed. The grieving parents finally got a court order to access these online records, arguing that just as … Read More
September 25, 2013
Jessica Menkhausen and Derek Manion, both 33, are engaged to be married. However, the St. Louis couple’s wedding is on hold so they can pay for in vitro fertilization, in the hopes of getting pregnant. Menkhausen has battled fertility issues, … Read More
September 23, 2013
“After Tiller,†a new documentary by Martha Shane and Lana Wilson, is a partisan document in the culture wars. It could hardly be otherwise, since the film’s subject, abortion, is one where common ground is elusive, if not philosophically untenable. … Read More
September 19, 2013
It’s time for the priesthood to be taken to task – and journalists aren’t up to the job. (The Guardian, op-ed by the editor of Nature)
September 18, 2013
Not even 24 hours into its long-awaited release, “Grand Theft Auto V” is already attracting criticism for an extended scene that puts the player in control of one of the game’s protagonists as he tortures a man suspected of harboring … Read More
September 17, 2013
Long before he brought people into his laboratory at Columbia University to smoke crack cocaine, Carl Hart saw its effects firsthand. Growing up in poverty, he watched relatives become crack addicts, living in squalor and stealing from their mothers. Childhood … Read More
September 3, 2013
Trying to remember the multiple passwords we need for every device, website and service is an almost impossible task. But you could soon use something rather more personal to prove your identity: your own heartbeat. (New Scientist)
August 12, 2013
Two weeks after announcing that he and his wife had welcomed a baby girl, new dad Jimmy Fallon reveals their daughter Winnie Rose was born via surrogate. (People)
July 30, 2013
Overpopulation didn’t turn out to be the Bomb some predicted in the 1970s. But the steady extension of lifespans has created dilemmas that lurk in the growing national conversation about assisted suicide. (Salon)
June 17, 2013
The exhibition, which was created in collaboration with National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, covers 4,400 square feet with interactive games, 3D models, DNA sequencing equipment and videos of real-life stories. It aims to … Read More
May 30, 2013
The agency’s new campaign, which features provocative images of “pregnant” teenage boys in an effort to “spark citywide conversations,” has gained national attention with features on Jezebel, the Daily Mail, AdWeek and more — but will it be effective in … Read More
May 27, 2013
The death of Angelina Jolie’s aunt, Debbie Martin, has once again highlighted the genetic risk of breast cancer. Martin, 61, was the younger sister of Jolie’s mother, Marcheline Bertrand, who died from ovarian cancer at the age of 56. Martin’s … Read More
May 16, 2013
The study, published by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a think tank, found that retirement results in a “drastic decline in health” in the medium and long term. (BBC)
May 15, 2013
The villain in “Inferno,†Brown’s sixth novel, follows a movement called transhumanism. Brown, 48, who spent more than two years in Florence researching the book, has been interested in the controversial concept of transhumanism for years. (Today)
May 3, 2013
The Academy Award-nominated movie “Amour” is sparking much-needed conversations about aging, the illness of a longtime companion and dying with dignity. (The Sun Sentinel)
May 1, 2013
When hit songwriter and former American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi and husband Mike McCuddy welcomed son Greyson James Carroll via gestational surrogate in January, it was a dream come true for the couple following five years of heartbreaking fertility issues. … Read More
April 26, 2013
Having children improves your quality of life, even if you are a step-parent or have adopted a child, a new study has concluded. (The Telegraph)
April 26, 2013
Google has always been an artificial intelligence company, so it really shouldn’t have been a surprise that Ray Kurzweil, one of the leading scientists in the field, joined the search giant late last year. Nonetheless, the hiring raised some eyebrows, … Read More
April 25, 2013
Happy National DNA Day! April 25 marks the 60th anniversary of scientists’ discovery of the double helix. It’s also the 10th anniversary of the completion of the Human Genome Project, which set out to sequence the more than 3 billion … Read More
April 17, 2013
The grisly details drew mainly local attention. But after an online furor that the case was being ignored by the national news media because of troubling accounts of late-term abortions, reporters from major newspapers and television networks descended Monday on … Read More
April 10, 2013
As donors and surrogates make things potentially more complicated to explain, picture books remain eloquent ways of helping kids understand where they came from. (The Atlantic)
April 5, 2013
Since 1995, when the first full week of April was declared National Public Health Week (NPHW), communities across the United States have observed NPHW as a time to recognize the contributions of public health and highlight issues that are important … Read More
March 26, 2013
It is characteristic of the American condition that we want to save the world. This may be seen economically, politically, in terms of human rights, consumption of resources, education or healthcare – any way one chooses. (The Yemen Times)
