March 23, 2007
For most of us, our connection to an umbilical cord lasts only during our first few seconds of life. However, for a growing number of people, umbilical cords represent a crucial lifeline even in adulthood. (ABC News)
March 23, 2007
The controversial practice of selecting a “saviour sibling” whose stem cells are used to treat chronically ill brothers or sisters will be investigated by Sydney scientists. (Daily Telegraph)
March 23, 2007
A presidential panel decided Friday to partially allow research on embryonic stem cells, opening the way for South Korean scientists to resume their studies in the field. (Korea Times)
March 23, 2007
Representatives of three of the world’s major religions tangled over the beginnings of human life, the disposal of surplus embryos from in vitro fertilization clinics, and the conduct of embryonic stem cell research Wednesday (March 14) at Harvard Divinity School. … Read More
March 23, 2007
Damage to an area of the brain behind the forehead, inches behind the eyes, transforms the way people make moral judgments in life-or-death situations, scientists reported yesterday. In a new study, people with this rare injury expressed increased willingness to … Read More
March 23, 2007
The virtual world phenomenon of Second Life will transform the Internet within the next 10 years, and the browser will have to change just as fast to keep up, said Mozilla’s Window Snyder. (InformationWeek)
March 23, 2007
University of Judaism professor Elliot Dorff spoke to a full group at the University Student Union’s Flintridge Room on Tuesday morning about bioethics in the new technological era, and the way Judaism values and morals dictate medical ethics. (Daily Sundial)
March 23, 2007
Health care is hot. The status quo is not. And universal care is in the air. The three leading Democratic candidates are reaching out for the healing hands of complete coverage. The numbers say there’s more to it than pure … Read More
March 23, 2007
Scientists predict a future in which genetic testing can foretell a person’s susceptibility to hundreds of medical conditions. It’s a brave new world, and Congress just can’t wait to regulate it. (TCS Daily)
March 23, 2007
There is no doubt that the free market is the most efficient economic system available. Its benefits and stunning achievements are all around us. But the introduction of market-based thinking into the area of human reproduction is fostering two forms … Read More
March 22, 2007
Legislation soon to be introduced in New Jersey would require HIV testing for all mothers and babies. Good. AIDS has been treated as a political disease rather than an urgent matter of public health for far too long. Back in … Read More
March 22, 2007
This is one medical endorsement that I welcome for assisted suicide because it reflects an important truth about the whole movement: It is about money and “treating” the most expensive patients with a lethal overdose. Talk about cost containment! Lest … Read More
March 22, 2007
I have read the bill several times now. Funny thing: Even though the title of the bill is “The Human Cloning Ban and Stem Cell Protection Act of 2007,” the bill never even mentions stem cell research except in the … Read More
March 22, 2007
A major reason that assisted suicide has not moved beyond Oregon in this country is that the Democratic Party remains divided about the issue–despite some of its more left leaning members seeking to transform the issue into a Democratic Agenda … Read More
March 22, 2007
I just went to Senators Orin Hatch and Dianne Feinstein’s Web sites to read their press releases on the introduction of S. 812, a bill that would legalize human cloning and authorize researchers to pay women to undergo egg procurement. … Read More
March 22, 2007
The human brain is a fascinating organ, but it’s an absolute mess. Because it has evolved over millions of years, there are all sorts of processes jumbled together rather than logically organized. (Wired)
March 22, 2007
Xenotransplantation is a remarkable procedure that involves putting animal parts into humans, and human parts into animals. It could save thousands of lives and put an end to the tragedy of patients dying while waiting for a human organ transplant; … Read More
March 22, 2007
If made into law, the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act would bar prejudicial treatment based solely on genetic data, such as genetic predisposition to disease. (NPR)
March 22, 2007
In the quest to make bone, joint and tooth implants almost as good as nature’s own version, scientists are turning to nanotechnology. Researchers have found that the response of host organisms (including at the protein and cellular level) to nanomaterials … Read More
March 22, 2007
Proposed changes to laws governing the use of human tissue could have a devastating affect on medical research throughout New Zealand. (New Zealand Herald)
March 22, 2007
Hospitals Struggle to Meet Demand for 95,000 on Wait Lists, but Critics Say Dying Patients Should Be Priority. (ABC News)
March 22, 2007
The Vermont House voted down an initiative Wednesday that would have given terminally ill patients the ability to hasten their deaths with the help of a physician. (Burlington Free Press)
March 22, 2007
PRESIDENT BUSH has few allies left in the stem cell debate. The mainstream of his party deserted him last year when the Republican-controlled Congress went on record opposing Mr. Bush’s position on the issue. (Washington Post)
March 22, 2007
There was a time when I might have believed humanity had passed beyond barbarism of past centuries and into sunlit enlightenment. I might have believed it if I was kept unaware of 20th Century barbarism. This western barbarism culminated in … Read More
March 21, 2007
The Vermont House of Representatives just voted down the bill to legalize assisted suicide. The vote was 83-62. This is a real victory. Behind the scenes, it looked bleak for awhile. But here is a verite: The more people learn … Read More
