October 28, 2013
In his latest book, genetic guru J. Craig Venter envisions a brave new world where DNA can be teleported between planets and where custom-made bacteria produce drugs, food and biofuel — but he also worries that do-it-yourself biohackers could spoil … Read More
October 22, 2013
An article to be published in the American Journal of Public Health recommends changing the federal regulations that govern oversight of human subjects research (“the Common Rule”) to address continued underrepresentation of minorities in research studies. (Science Daily)
October 18, 2013
In 2007 J. Craig Venter and his team sequenced an entire human genome—Venter’s own—making scientific history. Three years later his team became the first to successfully create “synthetic life,” and won a Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Leadership Award. In his newest … Read More
October 9, 2013
Reigning Miss Universe Olivia Frances Culpo on Saturday said the sensitive subject of surrogacy needs to be looked from the Indian context and maintaining privacy of both the donor and the surrogate mother through a third party agency is also … Read More
October 8, 2013
Three scientists who explained the inner workings of a ‘cellular postal service’ shared this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Their work pinpointed how cells shuttle proteins and other biomolecules from one location to another — a process that … Read More
October 7, 2013
One detail omitted from the obituaries published around the world was that Edwards was a member in good standing of the Eugenics Society in Britain for much of his career. (Scientific American)
September 30, 2013
But if you had to pick one philanthropic enterprise to be Allen’s jewel in the crown, that would be the brain science institute he founded 10 years ago: $400 million of his estimated $15.8 billion fortune has gone toward the … Read More
September 17, 2013
British cosmologist Stephen Hawking has backed the right for people who are terminally ill to choose to end their lives and to receive help to do so as long as safeguards are in place. (Reuters)
September 16, 2013
The Death-with-Dignity movement suffered a great loss with the passing of former chairman of the Compassion & Choices board of directors, member and dedicated friend, Paul Spiers. Paul died Wednesday in Danvers, Massachusetts. He was 62. Our movement took great … Read More
September 9, 2013
NFL quarterback Peyton Manning turned in a record performance yesterday against the Super Bowl champion team the Baltimore Ravens. And he may have stem cell therapy to thank. (The Washington Times)
September 6, 2013
“Valerie Harper is facing a devastating diagnosis: terminal brain cancer,” a People cover story from March started. “Her doctors say she has as little as three months left to live.” Then in August, the actress’ doctor told the “Today” show … Read More
September 5, 2013
Dr. William Glasser, a psychiatrist who published more than two dozen books promoting his view that mental health is mostly a matter of personal choice, a precept that found a vast popular audience and influenced teachers, drug counselors and personal … Read More
August 27, 2013
That Linda Ronstadt would lose her powerful voice after a four-decade singing career is the ironic curse of Parkinson’s disease. The neurological degenerative condition affects more than 1 million Americans, robbing them of speech, mobility and their cognitive abilities. (ABC … Read More
August 27, 2013
Dr. Peter Huttenlocher, a pediatric neurologist and neuroscientist whose innovative research counting billions of brain synapses — the microscopic information highways of the mind — revealed that brains develop rapidly in young children and later “prune†themselves as they mature, … Read More
August 16, 2013
“Public intellectuals, much of the time at least, should be party poopers,” Jean Bethke Elshtain declared in 2001. Elshtain, who died Sunday at age 72, formally spent her last 18 years at the University of Chicago Divinity School, but throughout … Read More
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)
August 9, 2013
Paul Knoepfler, who runs his own research lab at University of California, Davis, will receive special recognition by the Genetics Policy Institute for his advocacy of stem cell research via the blog that he’s been hosting since 2009. (Forbes)
August 9, 2013
[Interview with Craig Venter] Where are we in the hype cycle of synthetic biology? My complaint is that there are more books and news articles than there are primary scientific papers. I am probably the biggest critic of the hypesters, … Read More
August 6, 2013
Lindisfarne Centre Faithful Judgements: The Role of Religion in Laypeople’s Ethical Evaluations of New Reproductive and Genetic Technologies September 2, 2013, 10:30am – 4pm St. Aidan’s College, Durham University Durham DH1 3LJ, UK For more information, see here.
July 12, 2013
The Neumann case provides a stark reminder that some beliefs can literally endanger children’s lives. Religion and science equally fuel this kind of fear-mongering and reckless parenting. When combined with celebrity, real people get hurt. (The Atlantic)
July 12, 2013
The family of Nelson Mandela, who has been lying at the edge of death in a South African hospital for more than a month, might in the days or weeks to come face the same awful decision that has confronted … Read More
July 9, 2013
Hannah Warren died on Saturday at Children’s Hospital of Illinois, hospital spokeswoman Shelli Dankoff said. The hospital said in a statement that Hannah couldn’t “overcome additional health issues that were identified as her care progressed”. (Herald Sun)
July 5, 2013
Christian de Duve, 1917-2013; Christian de Duve shared the 1974 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine with Albert Claude and George Palade for discoveries about the internal workings of the cell that have helped to shed light on the causes … Read More
July 1, 2013
The emotional pain and practical demands facing Nelson Mandela’s family are universal: confronting the final days of an elderly loved one. There are no rules for how or when the end may arrive. Some choose to let go with little … Read More
June 20, 2013
Edmund D. Pellegrino, a physician and former Catholic University president who was a leading figure in bioethics, a field of inquiry that has pushed doctors, patients and society at large to confront essential quandaries of caring for the sick, died … Read More
