December 26, 2013
Silicon Valley keeps spawning micro-storytelling genres — from six-second Vines to 140-character tweets — that are each more popular than the next. But that hardly means those mini-formats can properly capture the controversies, personalities, ramifications and dangers of the tech … Read More
December 20, 2013
US scientists have performed a dramatic reversal of the ageing process in animal studies. They used a chemical to rejuvenate muscle in mice and said it was the equivalent of transforming a 60-year-old’s muscle to that of a 20-year-old – … Read More
December 20, 2013
The statement, published in Endocrine Reviews, notes that the most frequently used PEDs are anabolic drugs that increase muscle mass and reduce fat mass. Anabolic-androgenic steroids are the most heavily abused, followed by human growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor, stimulants, … Read More
December 19, 2013
AI & Society (Volume 28, No. 4, December 2013) is now available online by subscription only. Articles include: “Ethical issues in our times of technology: select exploration” by Parthasarathi Banerjee “Artificial agents and the expanding ethical circle” by Steve Torrance … Read More
December 19, 2013
The paper, by ASPS member surgeon Dr. Kevin Chung and Lauren Franzblau of the University of Michigan, discusses the rise and transformation of the medical tourism industry, foreign and domestic forces that influence cosmetic surgical tourism, and the pros and … Read More
December 12, 2013
The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) published its unbelievable numbers in its ‘International Survey on Aesthetic/Cosmetic Procedures Performed in 2011’. According to ISAPS, when it comes to plastic surgeons and cosmetic procedures by countries and continents the numbers … Read More
December 11, 2013
Once feared by patients and denounced by primary care physicians, bariatric surgery has become more accepted as research shows it’s not only helping people lose weight, but also reducing their risk for cardiovascular disease and reversing type 2 diabetes. (CNN)
December 5, 2013
Futurists have long speculated that nanotechnology — the engineering of materials and devices at the molecular scale — will revolutionize virtually every field it touches, medicine being no exception. Here’s what to expect when you have fleets of molecule-sized robots … Read More
November 26, 2013
Dr. Emil Chynn surgically implanted the eye jewelry a few weeks ago on Park Avenue in Manhattan for $3,000 as local news cameras captured the moment. Chynn operated in front of a floor-to-ceiling glass window so passersby could watch from … Read More
November 26, 2013
On the eve of Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary, a bioethics researcher at the University of Leicester claims that one of the Doctor’s most fearsome villains – the Cybermen – represent public concerns about the greater use of technology in medicine. … Read More
November 20, 2013
Computer engineers and hearing scientists at The Ohio State University have made a potential breakthrough in solving a 50-year-old problem in hearing technology: how to help the hearing-impaired understand speech in the midst of background noise. (Cybernetics News)
November 15, 2013
The drug rapamycin lengthens lifespan in mice, but a paper published earlier this year questioned whether it slows aging in the animals. This week a new study comes to rapamycin’s defense. Meanwhile, researchers have begun a clinical trial to test … Read More
November 13, 2013
Older men who take testosterone are more likely than those who don’t to have a heart attack or stroke or to die over the following few years, new research indicates. The study included men who were in their early 60s, … Read More
November 12, 2013
Perfect vision no longer requires numerous trips to the eye doctor and multiple pairs of glasses to see near and far. Thanks to the new trend in self-adjusting eyewear, you can instantly focus eyesight with a light touch or toss … Read More
November 11, 2013
A British boy has become the first individual in Britain to receive a special implant which allows the young child to walk unaided. The boy in question, Eddy Parry, was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer at a … Read More
November 7, 2013
Extreme body modification procedures are almost never performed by actual physicians. These treatments are more often associated with tattoo parlors than medical offices. In fact, I’ve never heard of a single plastic surgeon who’s admitted to performing extreme body modification. … Read More
November 6, 2013
Here’s controversial Cybernetics Professor, Kevin Warwick, on the future of worker productivity. His chilling warning: If we don’t wake up, countries like China will soon be producing cyber-enhanced super-employees—workers who far outclass even the most capable employee here at home. … Read More
November 1, 2013
Many people from US and other western countries are travelling to India for less-expensive cosmetic surgeries such as rhinoplasty or breast augmentation procedure, a new study has found. Prompted by the ease and relatively low costs of travel, more patients … Read More
October 29, 2013
Most people wish to live a long and healthy life. But apparently…not too long. That’s among the major findings in a recent survey by the Pew Research Center that looks at attitudes about aging, medical advances and “radical life extension”—the … Read More
October 29, 2013
Bioethics (Volume 27, No. 9, November 2013) is now available online by subscription only. Articles include: “Brain, Mind and Machine: What Are the Implications of Deep Brain Stimulation for Perceptions of Personal Identity, Agency, and Free Will?†by Nir Lipsman and … Read More
October 22, 2013
Everyone grows older, but scientists don’t really understand why. Now a UCLA study has uncovered a biological clock embedded in our genomes that may shed light on why our bodies age and how we can slow the process. Published in … Read More
October 16, 2013
Humanity today faces incredible threats and opportunities: climate change, nuclear weapons, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and much, much more. But some people argue that these things are all trumped by one: artificial intelligence (AI). To date, this argument has been confined mainly … Read More
October 15, 2013
About a year ago, Zac Vawter climbed all 103 flights of stairs of the Willis Tower in Chicago. On its own, this accomplishment would be pretty unremarkable, but Vawter, who lost his leg four years ago during a motorcycle accident, … Read More
October 15, 2013
The Journal of Medical Ethics (Volume 39, No. 11, November 2013) is now available online by subscription only. Articles include: “The making of medical ethics†by Kenneth Boyd “Framing patient consent for student involvement in pelvic examination: a dual model of … Read More
October 11, 2013
The number of tourists visiting South Korea for cosmetic surgery has increased more than fivefold since 2009, to 15,428 last year, according to the country’s health ministry. Like Vu, many make a beeline for the so-called beauty belt—hundreds of clinics … Read More
