January 25, 2007
The Times of London is reporting, Sir Richard Branson will launch his most controversial business to date as he moves into stem-cell storage and the biotech sector. Huh? The stem cells in question come from umbilical cord blood. How in … Read More
January 25, 2007
With the murderer Jack Kevorkian soon to be released from prison on parole, he has to think about earning a living. According to this story, he has decided to go into business as what he calls a circumcision consultant. From … Read More
January 25, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. National Press Club 529 14th Street N.W. Washington, D.C. Is a machine-dominated society á la The Matrix or a Borg-esque collective intelligence looming in humanity’s future? Emerging technologies in the areas … Read More
January 25, 2007
Germany has jailed a man who sold suicide pills over the internet. Good. Next stop: Phillip Nitschke. I would also like to see more enforcement against the suicide assisters among American euthanasia groups.
January 25, 2007
When Proposition 71 was being pushed on the voters, campaign propaganda assured Californians that the money would pour in to state coffers if they only gave scientists the constitutional right to do human cloning and embryonic stem cell research. The … Read More
January 25, 2007
The Food and Drug Administration has ended an investigation into a broker offering ready-made embryos to prospective parents, concluding the agency had no jurisdiction. (AP)
January 25, 2007
Sparking a key gene back into life could provide a powerful new treatment for cancer, scientists have found. (BBC)
January 25, 2007
A University of California Berkeley economics professor has done an analysis of the financial returns likely to come to California from stem cell research–and he said they will likely be a small fraction of what proponents of state-funded stem-cell research … Read More
January 25, 2007
Are biotechnology companies reaching the limits of how much they can charge for their drugs? One sign of that is the sluggish sales of drugs for psoriasis. (New York Times)
January 25, 2007
British scientists have succeeded in producing multiple generations of genetically altered, or transgenic, hens that produce functional pharmaceutical proteins in the whites of their eggs. (Reuters)
January 25, 2007
Their combined figurative paintings and prints focus on women and explore maturity, body image, and coping with age and infirmity. (Blade)
January 25, 2007
Clinique has gone one step further in aligning itself with therapeutic imagery — and in the process has raised the ante for beauty companies seeking affiliations with doctors. (New York Times)
January 24, 2007
In the real world, people with amnesia live in a mental universe at least as strange as fiction: new research suggests that they are marooned in the present, as helpless at imagining future experiences as they are at retrieving old … Read More
January 24, 2007
Four out of five people in Britain believe the law should allow a doctor to end the life of a terminally ill patient who is in pain if they wish to die. In a finding confirming that British public opinion … Read More
January 24, 2007
African countries that are home to much of the world’s human medical research have created institutions to deal with ethical issues, but these committees face significant hurdles–like never meeting in person. (Scientific American)
January 24, 2007
Four years ago, Stuart Cracraft became a father at age 45. As his twin daughters grow up, he worries that his body and mind might not be able to keep up. Having recently witnessed his mother’s death following a devastating … Read More
January 24, 2007
President Bush delivered a domestic agenda to Congressional Democrats on Tuesday that was, in large part, modest and a reiteration of past proposals. Where he did break ground — on health care — his initiative was quickly dismissed by leading … Read More
January 24, 2007
A survey released this week by the nonprofit Markle Foundation finds patients enthusiastic about being able to access their health information online. A vast majority say they would use this information to prevent unnecessary care and take better care of … Read More
January 23, 2007
In the current edition of Brave New Bioethics, I discuss the new religion of transhumanism, which fervently believes in a post human eschatology of human immortality and redesign.
January 23, 2007
It just keeps coming: The Telegraph is reporting that a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that stem cells are passed from mothers to unborn children with type 1 diabetes and may help repair … Read More
January 23, 2007
So, the deconstruction of ES cells as the “only hope” for “cures” continues apace. Now, South Korean researchers have been able to grow pancreatic beta cells from stem cells taken from the umbilical cord blood. And, the cells made from … Read More
January 23, 2007
A team of South Korean scientists has grown pancreatic beta cells, which can help treat diabetes, from stem cells taken from the umbilical cord blood of new born babies. (The Korea Times)
January 23, 2007
Doctors have recommended forcibly detaining people in South Africa who refuse treatment for a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis, an extreme measure meant to keep the infected away from others to curb the spread of the disease, according to a paper … Read More
January 23, 2007
A mother’s cells may try to repair the tissue damage in an unborn child that can result in type 1 diabetes, research suggests. (BBC)
January 23, 2007
I carry the card in the glove compartment of my car. It is not a Valentine’s card from my wife, or a graduation card from my mother. It is a simple greeting card, with a cheerful watercolor of wildflowers, sent … Read More
