July 9, 2025
A New Edition of European Journal of Human Genetics Is Now Available
European Journal of Human Genetics (vol. 33, no. 6, 2025) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
Research Ethics
July 7, 2025
Lab-grown sperm and eggs just a few years away, scientists say
(The Guardian) – Scientists are just a few years from creating viable human sex cells in the lab, according to an internationally renowned pioneer of the field, who says the advance could open up biology-defying possibilities for reproduction. Speaking to … Read More
July 4, 2025
Journal plagued with problematic papers, likely from paper mills, pauses submissions
(Science) – A major scientific publisher, Taylor & Francis, said yesterday it has paused submissions to its journal Bioengineered so editors there can investigate some 1000 of its papers that bear signs they contain manipulated results or came from shady … Read More
July 3, 2025
A Possible Connection Between Mental Illness and Diet
(Undark) – Although the evidence is limited, some psychiatrists are using ketogenic diets to treat psychiatric disorders. In fact, ketogenic diets have long been used in conventional medicine to treat severe or intractable epilepsy. Several studies published in the past … Read More
July 3, 2025
454 Hints That a Chatbot Wrote Part of a Biomedical Researcher’s Paper
(New York Times) – Scientists show that the frequency of a set of words seems to have increased in published study abstracts since ChatGPT was released into the world. Scientists know it is happening, even if they don’t do it … Read More
July 2, 2025
UC San Diego researchers test new cancer drug in space
(Axios) – UC San Diego scientists are testing a new potential cancer treatment in space. Why it matters: The NASA-funded mission will analyze whether the drug rebecsinib works on ovarian cancer, metastatic breast cancer, leukemia and glioblastoma multiforme (an aggressive … Read More
June 30, 2025
Three Siblings, One Fatal Gene: A Family’s Fight Against Early-Onset Alzheimer’s
(Wall Street Journal) – Among members of the Richardson family who carry a mutation in the PSEN1 gene, the average age when symptoms start is 39 Hannah’s family has a history of a rare genetic mutation that, when inherited, virtually … Read More
June 30, 2025
A New Edition of Developing World Bioethics Is Now Available
Developing World Bioethics (vol. 25, no. 2, 2025) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
June 25, 2025
N.I.H. Memo Pauses Cancellations of Medical Research Grants
(New York Times) – In the wake of two court rulings taking issue with the axing of medical research grants by the Trump administration, a senior official at the National Institutes of Health has directed agency staff members not to … Read More
June 24, 2025
From Killer Drones to Robotaxis, Sci-Fi Dreams Are Coming to Life
(Wall Street Journal) – AI and deep-pocketed billionaires are amping up interest in hardware in a new way The world is on fire, and that’s giving some of the richest men the audacity of hope. Hope that their billions, brains … Read More
June 17, 2025
A New Edition of Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy Is Now Available
Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy (vol. 28, no. 1, 2025) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
June 16, 2025
Chinese AI Companies Dodge U.S. Chip Curbs by Flying Suitcases of Hard Drives Abroad
(Wall Street Journal) – Engineers carry data to countries where Nvidia chips are available, frustrating Washington’s aims In some cases, Chinese AI developers have been able to substitute domestic chips for the American ones. Another workaround is to smuggle AI … Read More
June 16, 2025
A New Edition of Journal of Medical Ethics Is Now Available
Journal of Medical Ethics (vol. 51, no. 6, 2025) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
June 13, 2025
Tiny human hearts grown in pig embryos for the first time
(Nature) – The hearts started to beat in the pig–human hybrids, which survived for 21 days. Researchers have reported growing hearts containing human cells in pig embryos for the first time. The embryos survived for 21 days, and in that … Read More
June 12, 2025
CDC backtracks on layoffs, rehires more than 400 people
(Politico) – Around half of those employees are in the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reinstating more than 400 people who had received layoff notices, according to … Read More
June 12, 2025
With Rick Perry’s backing and $50 million from the state, Texas set to become a leader in psychedelics research
(Texas Tribune) – As Texas sets to crack down on the recreational use of cannabis, state leaders are opting to invest $50 million in another plant with purported medicinal benefits – a psychedelic called ibogaine. For several years, people have … Read More
June 11, 2025
Third Chinese national accused of smuggling biological materials into Michigan
(CBS Detroit via MSN) – A third Chinese national is accused of smuggling biological materials into the U.S. for work at a University of Michigan laboratory. Chengxuan Han, of the People’s Republic of China, is charged with smuggling goods into … Read More
June 9, 2025
Why Texas is spending millions to research an illegal psychedelic
(Washington Post) – For years, people have flown to clinics in Mexico to take ibogaine, the extract of an ancient African shrub that induces mind-bending hallucinations. Under medical supervision, patients undergo psychedelic trips that can last more than a dozen … Read More
June 2, 2025
A New Edition of European Journal of Human Genetics Is Now Available
European Journal of Human Genetics (vol. 33, no. 5, 2025) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
May 30, 2025
White House MAHA Report may have garbled science by using AI, experts say
(Washington Post via MSN) – Some of the citations that underpin the science in the White House’s sweeping “MAHA Report” appear to have been generated using artificial intelligence, resulting in numerous garbled scientific references and invented studies, AI experts said … Read More
May 29, 2025
China’s biotech boom leaves U.S. playing catch-up
(Axios) – China is now setting the pace in life sciences R&D, conducting more clinical trials than the U.S. and licensing new discoveries to American companies. The big picture: China has become a linchpin in global drug development, the result … Read More
May 28, 2025
RFK Jr threatens ban on federal scientists publishing in top journals
(The Guardian) – Robert F Kennedy Jr has threatened to ban government scientists from publishing in the world’s leading medical journals, which he branded “corrupt”, and to instead create alternative publications run by the state. “We’re probably going to stop … Read More
May 23, 2025
Meet Cathy Tie, Bride of “China’s Frankenstein”
(MIT Technology Review) – You may not be familiar with Tie, but she’s no stranger to the public spotlight. A former Thiel fellow, she is a partner in the attention-grabbing Los Angeles Project, which promised to create glow-in-the-dark pets. Over … Read More
May 22, 2025
Colossal scientist now admits they haven’t really made dire wolves
(New Scientist) – Despite a huge media fanfare in which Colossal Biosciences claimed to have resurrected the extinct dire wolf, the company’s chief scientist now concedes that the animals are merely modified grey wolves The dire wolf is “the world’s … Read More
May 22, 2025
Decades On, SSRIs Remain Mired in Mystery and Debate
(Undark) – Experts worry MAHA could wage a war on SSRIs. But some researchers have long questioned the drugs’ efficacy. The American Psychiatric Association, National Network of Depression Centers, and other organizations shot back: The safety and efficacy of antidepressants … Read More
