January 17, 2007
UK: Should smokers be denied surgery?
Should smokers be refused surgery? That is the title of a printed debate in the British Medical Journal for January 6. (The First Post)
Monthly Archives: January 2007
January 17, 2007
U.S. proposes new standards for umbilical cord cells
U.S. health officials proposed new standards on Tuesday meant to help companies and other organizations seek approval to sell stem cells from newborn’s umbilical cord blood used to treat some cancers and other diseases. (Reuters)
January 17, 2007
Transplants come under scrutiny
Traditionally organ transplants have been carried out to save a person’s life, be it with a new heart, kidney, or set of lungs. But surgeons are increasingly looking at transplants as a way of improving a patient’s quality of life. … Read More
January 17, 2007
Arizona: Bill would allow physician-assisted suicides
A group of Democratic state legislators have introduced a bill that would allow physician-assisted suicides via prescriptions for patients suffering from incurable terminal illnesses. (Business Journal of Phoenix)
January 17, 2007
Op-Ed: Embryonic backers selling a fairy tale
Confusion about embryonic stem-cell (ESC) research abounds, but the issues are fairly straightforward. ESC research, legal throughout the U.S., is already funded — privately, by various state appropriations, and by some federal (taxpayer) dollars, as well. The political debate is … Read More
January 17, 2007
Op-Ed: A dubious distinction
People are allowed to refuse medical treatment, yet doctors still cannot assist a patient’s death. (Guardian Unlimited)
January 16, 2007
World’s 1st ‘Test-Tube’ Baby Gives Birth
Louise Brown, who was the world’s first “test-tube” baby, has given birth to her first child. (Fox News)
January 16, 2007
Embryo Saved from Flood is Now a Boy
Rescued from a great flood while he was just a frozen embryo in liquid nitrogen, a baby boy entered the world Tuesday and was named after the most famous flood survivor of them all, Noah. (AP)
January 16, 2007
Arizona to Have Assisted Suicide Bill
This was expected: Arizona legislators will introduce an assisted suicide legalization bill. Typically, the media report states that the opponents will be Christians and Catholics. That’s just the tip of the ice berg with disability rights and civil rights organizations … Read More
January 16, 2007
“Feed me!” Part 3
The quest for the blank check to conduct human embryonic stem cell research continues apace, as states trip over each other to throw money at Big Biotech and its business partners in universities. Now, it’s New York, where the new … Read More
January 16, 2007
Embryos as Inventory
The inestimable Will Saletan explores “the embryo factory” in Slate and, as is his wont, hits the nail on the head. He is writing about the Abraham Center of Life, which I commented about here at Secondhand Smoke last year. … Read More
January 16, 2007
Pediatrics academy is urging parents to donate cord blood
Practicing medicine sometimes means sharing difficult news with patients and their families. (STLtoday)
January 16, 2007
Chickens engineered to make cancer drugs
A team at the institute that cloned Dolly the sheep have made a genetically engineered chicken that produces cancer drugs in its eggs. (Reuters)
January 16, 2007
Growth hormone no ‘magic bullet’ for aging
Human growth hormone is being sold in increasing amounts as a cure-all for the ravages of aging, but new research shows no evidence for these claims – and even possible dangers from the treatments. ( Asbury Park Press)
January 16, 2007
Researchers First To Map Gene That Regulates Adult Stem Cell Growth
A new discovery in stem cell research may mean big things for cancer patients in the future. Gary Van Zant, Ph.D., and a research team at the University of Kentucky published their findings today in Nature Genetics, an international scientific … Read More
January 16, 2007
Indian police probe kidney sales by tsunami victims
Police in southern India say they have uncovered evidence of illegal trade in kidneys sold by poor fishermen and their families whose livelihoods were destroyed by the Indian Ocean tsunami two years ago. (Reuters)
January 16, 2007
UK: HFEA to consult on use of animal eggs in ES cell research
The UK’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has announced that it will hold a public consultation on the use of animal eggs in human embryo research. The decision follows a meeting held last week, at which the authority considered … Read More
January 16, 2007
UK: IVF watchdog ‘played to cameras’
The fertility watchdog has been criticised for “playing to the cameras” over an investigation into Britain’s leading IVF clinic. (BBC)
January 16, 2007
Escaping a Moral Mess
Now there may be a third way—a new category of stem cells that are readily available, perhaps ethically trouble-free and possibly as powerful and as flexible in function as their embryonic counterparts: amniotic-fluid stem cells, found in both the placenta … Read More
January 16, 2007
First U.S. Uterus Transplant Planned
First came kidney, liver and heart transplants. Then a few doctors started transplanting hands. French surgeons even did a face. Now, doctors are planning the first womb transplant in the United States. (Washington Post)
January 16, 2007
Op-Ed: The Embryo Factory
Friday morning, an investigator from the Food and Drug Administration spent four hours questioning Jennalee Ryan of San Antonio, Texas, about her new line of business. That business, outlined a week ago by Washington Post reporter Rob Stein, is making … Read More
January 16, 2007
Op-Ed: Spitzer Wants New York to Enter Stem Cell Race
Five years ago, the Bush administration decided to severely limit federal financing for embryonic stem cell research, a move that set off vigorous competition among the states to provide support for a research field that many scientists say could bring … Read More
January 15, 2007
How Do We Judge Medical Harm?
Doctors are planning to perform the first uterus transplant in a woman desiring the surgery so she can have a baby, not to save her life. This strikes me as moving onto dangerous ground where doctors reduce themselves from professionals … Read More
January 15, 2007
Bone Marrow Stem Cell Science Continues to Advance
Have you noticed how bitter some advocates for ESCR seem to be about the ongoing and ubiquitous advances in adult stem cell research? Well, here’s another story to raise their dander: Catherine Verfaillie, who first demonstrated that a certain type … Read More
January 15, 2007
Terms Every “Intellectual” Should Know
George Dvorsky, the radical transhumanist–well, now there’s a redundant phrase–has come up with a long list of terms of which “intellectuals” should be aware. These include: Cosmological Eschatology (aka physical eschatology): CE is the study of how the Universe develops, … Read More
