February 18, 2019
(STAT News) – At the turn of the century, the once-promising idea of replacing a faulty gene with a corrective copy took a tragic turn. A 1999 clinical trial resulted in the death of an 18-year-old patient, dashing the ambitions … Read More
January 21, 2019
Christian Bioethics (vol. 24, no. 3, 2018) is available online by subscription only. Articles include: “Christian Bioethics Loses Its Founding Editor” by Ana S Iltis and Mark J Cherry “Taking Our Meds Faithfully? Christian Engagements with Psychiatric Medication” by Warren … Read More
January 18, 2019
(NPR) – Each organ responds to transplant in a different way. “The liver will start pouring bile. The lungs start essentially breathing,” Mezrich says. “Maybe the most dramatic organ, of course, is the heart, because you put it in and … Read More
December 14, 2018
(Knowable Magazine) – Donoghue himself went on to further develop the system to allow people to open and close a robotic hand, and to reach, grasp and drink from a bottle by using a multijointed robotic arm. Last year, he … Read More
November 27, 2018
(Science) – On Wednesday, the National Science Foundation (NSF) will welcome the first cohort of members appointed by President Donald Trump to its oversight body, the National Science Board. Most of the seven fit the mold of senior academic leaders, … Read More
November 9, 2018
(Vox) – President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama are famous for keeping the details of their personal life private. But the Obamas have just gone public with a very intimate and painful struggle: They had a miscarriage … Read More
October 17, 2018
(Newsweek) – Before his death in March of this year, Stephen Hawking warned that genetic engineering could lead to the rise of a superhuman species, with disastrous consequences for the rest of humanity. The stark message is just one of … Read More
October 9, 2018
(The Washington Post) – Johns Hopkins University announced it will name a new research building on campus in honor of Henrietta Lacks, whose “immortal cells” led to the development of the polio vaccine, studies of leukemia and AIDS, chemotherapy and … Read More
October 1, 2018
(Yahoo! News) – Two immunologists, James Allison of the US and Tasuku Honjo of Japan, won the 2018 Nobel Medicine Prize for research into how the body’s natural defences can fight cancer, the jury said on Monday. Unlike more traditional … Read More
September 21, 2018
(ABC News) – Terminally ill people should have the right to a “dignified assisted death,” former South African archbishop Desmond Tutu said Friday, following a murder charge against a local campaigner for the legalization of euthanasia. Lawmakers “should engage, enable … Read More
September 5, 2018
(STAT News) – The once-heralded blood-testing startup Theranos is shutting down, according to a new report. Theranos was unable to sell itself and is now looking to pay unsecured creditors its remaining cash of about $5 million in the upcoming … Read More
August 29, 2018
(Chemical & Engineering News) – In 2015, Jennifer Doudna, codeveloper of the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology, convened a meeting in Napa, Calif., aimed at setting the parameters for ethical use of the groundbreaking genomic technique. Her template for the proceedings was … Read More
August 27, 2018
(STAT News) – About 14,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most common form of adult brain cancer, every year. It will kill all but 15 percent within five years. Barely half live 18 months. Of two dozen … Read More
August 24, 2018
(CNN) – Sen. John McCain has decided to stop treatment for the brain cancer he has been battling for over a year, his family said Friday in an announcement that precipitated a rare moment of bipartisan empathy in honor of … Read More
August 2, 2018
(The Economist) – Jennifer Doudna, one of those scientists, was not the first to edit genes or genetically modify an organism. But the tool that her team discovered made a previously painstaking and expensive process simpler and usable by almost … Read More
July 26, 2018
(Nature) – In the midst of growing public concern over artificial intelligence (AI), privacy and the use of data, Brent Hecht has a controversial proposal: the computer-science community should change its peer-review process to ensure that researchers disclose any possible … Read More
July 23, 2018
(STAT News) – Human Longevity’s complaint accuses Venter of taking with him trade secrets on his company-issued laptop when he left the company in late May and using them to try to set up a competing business. It also accuses … Read More
July 11, 2018
(NBC News) – After refusing for more than four years to accept California doctors’ conclusion that her comatose daughter was brain-dead, Nailah Winkfield forcefully told mourners at her daughter’s funeral service last week to stop letting doctors “pull the plug … Read More
July 9, 2018
(News-Medical) – An interview with Hugh Whittall, Director of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, conducted by Kate Anderton, BSc. What is Artificial Intelligence (AI) ? There is no universally agreed definition of AI. Broadly speaking, AI tends to refer to … Read More
July 2, 2018
(The Guardian) – A controversial film based on the real-life case of abortion clinic doctor and convicted murderer Kermit Gosnell will now be released in US cinemas, after the conclusion of legal action against it by the judge involved in … Read More
June 21, 2018
(Bloomberg) – Atul Gawande, a surgeon and journalist who has written extensively about the U.S. failure to grapple with rising health-care spending, has been named to head a new health venture for Amazon.com Inc., Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and JPMorgan Chase … Read More
June 19, 2018
(STAT News) – Instead, she has been toying with the boundaries of illness itself. She likes seeing patients other doctors have given up on. Many have faced questions about whether they’re really as sick as they say. For all of … Read More
May 21, 2018
(The Telegraph) – The founder of one of Switzerland’s best known assisted suicide organisations went on trial on Friday on charges of profiteering from patients and exploiting their suffering for his own benefit. Ludwig Minelli, the founder of Dignitas, is … Read More
May 16, 2018
(CNN) – Her cells are responsible for the polio vaccine, gene mapping and in vitro fertilization to name a few. But for a long time most of the public didn’t know her contribution to modern medicine. Neither did she because … Read More
May 15, 2018
(The Washington Post) – When future historians look back on the 21st century, one of the most iconic photos may be of a smiling, dark-haired man in blue scrubs protectively holding a newborn — the world’s first commercially produced “three-parent” … Read More
