February 10, 2025
(Wall Street Journal) – Those who lose weight on Ozempic often find success has left them with sagging skin—a common side effect that is driving a boom in cosmetic surgery. “The first thing they see is the loose skin on their abdomen,” … Read More
January 28, 2025
(The New Atlantis) – From cradle to grave, surrogacy to smartphones to gender surgery to euthanasia, Americans are using technology to shortcut human nature — and shortchange ourselves. Here is a new agenda for turning technology away from hacking humans … Read More
January 27, 2025
(New York Times) – In the 1960s, the science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke coined a useful adage: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” He was right, as demonstrated by the almost mystical reverence with which people tend to … Read More
January 27, 2025
(ABC News) – Celebrities are increasingly opening up about reversing cosmetic procedures and swearing off dermal fillers, but some have discovered it can come with unexpected consequences. “Friends” actress Courteney Cox spoke about removing her fillers on the “Gloss Angeles” … Read More
January 23, 2025
(New York Times) – People are paying thousands for exhaustive medical tests and treatments like plasma exchange and peptide therapy. How much does it benefit them? Patients say that they feel rejuvenated by the interventions, and that while the plethora … Read More
January 20, 2025
(New York Times) – The allure of extreme longevity has beckoned for centuries. Research careers and marketing campaigns have been built on the idea that we can live longer, healthier lives by emulating long-lived people. It is a comforting thought, … Read More
January 17, 2025
(MIT Technology Review) – When you think of AI’s contributions to science, you probably think of AlphaFold, the Google DeepMind protein-folding program that earned its creator a Nobel Prize last year. Now OpenAI says it’s getting into the science game … Read More
January 10, 2025
(Wired) – Cartilage cells that contain fat explain why some skeletal tissues are less rigid than others, and could one day be grown in labs to produce better materials for performing reconstructive surgeries. A newly discovered cell type could transform … Read More
January 7, 2025
(Vox) – We’re painfully aware that we are vulnerable, fallible creatures. Our shame about that is reflected in Western religious traditions: The Bible tells us that upon first creating the world, God “saw that it was good,” but then became … Read More
January 2, 2025
(Financial Times) – What price immortality? Hal Finney, a computer scientist and early bitcoin user, placed his bets on cryonics: his body is preserved at Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Arizona. Tech billionaire Bryan Johnson has availed himself of his … Read More
December 17, 2024
(Wired) – The protective proteins in our bodies aren’t just great for fending off infection—they could also fight the effects of getting older. The antibodies can gum up the workings of a marauding germ or mark it for destruction by … Read More
December 16, 2024
The Journal of Medicine & Philosophy (vol. 49, no. 6, 2024) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
December 6, 2024
(Wall Street Journal) – Harvard geneticist David Sinclair aims to develop treatments for aging, but his companies have struggled to deliver Harvard geneticist David Sinclair’s seductive notion that aging is a treatable disease has helped companies he founded to raise … Read More
December 2, 2024
(Wired) – A Swedish startup wants to democratize stem cell treatments, but the finances of the unproven therapies raise ethical questions. Travel to the Bahamas and—for the meager sum of $16,500—you could have stem cells injected into your joints. The … Read More
November 18, 2024
(Wall Street Journal) – Keratopigmentation could be dangerous, doctors warn. Patients say it’s worth the risks. Some people getting the procedure say they want to look better and feel more confident. Others did it to look more like family members. … Read More
November 13, 2024
Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy (vol. 27, no. 4, 2024) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
November 11, 2024
(NBC News) – The hormone is recommended for women only at low doses for low libido. Do women have a testosterone problem? Social media influencers believe they do. And with the rise of telemedicine and testosterone replacement clinics opening up … Read More
October 24, 2024
(The Guardian) – Pollock is among an unknown number of people experiencing what many have unofficially termed “breast implant illness” (BII). The term has gained traction on social media but is not a formal medical diagnosis, and therefore still unfamiliar … Read More
October 7, 2024
(Axios) – A routine checkup in some parts of the country may now come with a side of Botox, a weight-loss drug or a comprehensive blood screening to suss out medical conditions, all usually offered on a cash-only basis. Why … Read More
October 1, 2024
(Washington Post) – In its annual report of yearly procedures for 2023, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons dubbed the new popular look the “ballet body.” Fueled by the rise of the blockbuster GLP-1 drugs, including Ozempic and Wegovy, thinness … Read More
September 27, 2024
(New York Times) – Just weeks before this summer’s Olympics in Paris, officials at the headquarters of the World Anti-Doping Agency got some startling news. Lawyers for the organization told a meeting of top officials in late May that a … Read More
September 27, 2024
(MIT Technology Review) – Long-distance space travel can wreak havoc on human health. There’s radiation and microgravity to contend with, as well as the psychological toll of isolation and confinement. Research on identical twin astronauts has also revealed a slew … Read More
September 27, 2024
The Journal of Medicine & Philosophy (vol. 49, no. 5, 2024) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
September 26, 2024
(NPR) – States that passed anti-transgender laws aimed at minors saw suicide attempts by transgender and gender nonconforming teenagers increase by as much as 72% in the following years, a new study by The Trevor Project says. The peer-reviewed study, … Read More
September 25, 2024
(The Atlantic) – Like normal Botox, baby Botox involves injections of a muscle paralytic. The difference is that baby Botox is proactive versus reactive: If first administered in youth and repeated every few months for the rest of your life, … Read More
