April 16, 2007
Cells that are supposed to nourish and support other nerve cells instead secrete the poisons that cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, researchers reported on Sunday. (Reuters)
April 16, 2007
FOR four days last December, America’s pleasure dome in the desert, Las Vegas, played host to a convention dedicated to the proposition that growing old is “a treatable medical condition.†(New York Times)
April 16, 2007
The government is assessing the impact of a new generation of drugs that are claimed to make people more intelligent. (BBC)
April 16, 2007
An Australian woman who was told she would never walk again after a car accident has claimed to be on her way to recovery after embryonic stem cell treatment from an Indian doctor. (Telegraph)
April 16, 2007
European and Chinese bioethicists and life scientists have set up an expert group to promote ethical behavior in biomedical research in both regions. (CORDIS)
April 16, 2007
Michael Meinen’s new right leg whirred into motion as he climbed steps. Sure, it was a little noisy, but the 28-year-old Iraq War veteran from Germantown could feel the motor boosting his body up each stair. (JS Online)
April 16, 2007
We hear from some, such as Dr. Sherwin Nuland, that what a doctor does or does not do at the bedside should be determined by the individual practioner’s personal conscience. This usually cuts from the side of permitting acts such … Read More
April 16, 2007
Now that Big Biotech has won elections in CA and MO, and the Bush funding policy is on the ropes, Big Biotech and their boosters in the media are changing their stories. Whereas before, it was about direct CURES! CURES! … Read More
April 16, 2007
I have a book review of The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia posted on today’s First Things blog. The book is dry, but very good in its discussion of the legal issues, and not bad in explaining philosophical perspectives. … Read More
April 14, 2007
With the intrepid help of the Discovery Institute, I have just begun a new one minute radio commentary called BioScience Views, that is beginning to get around. We haven’t created a dedicated Web page for it yet, but if you … Read More
April 13, 2007
The practice of patenting genes, which had largely faded from the headlines, has suddenly attracted a swarm of critics. The blitz includes an op-ed article in The New York Times by best-selling-novelist-turned-patent-gadfly Michael Crichton, a torrent of posts and comments … Read More
April 13, 2007
A California woman has given birth to the first baby conceived in the United States by means of frozen sperm and a frozen egg, according to the fertility firm that sponsored the study in which she took part. (CNN.com)
April 13, 2007
The other day, the Sacramento Bee editorialized in favor of assisted suicide. Now, it runs this story about how state investigators are inadequately auditing nursing homes and busting unsafe operators. Here’s the story: The California Department of Health Services is … Read More
April 13, 2007
Researchers have developed a novel form of propulsion for microrobots that mimics the way bacteria zip about using corkscrew-like appendages called flagella. Tests show that the tiny rotating nanocoils–just 27 nanometers thick and 40 micrometers long–are capable of spinning at … Read More
April 13, 2007
Scientists say they have successfully made immature sperm cells from human bone marrow samples. If these can be grown into fully developed sperm, which the researchers hope to do within five years, they may be useful in fertility treatments. (BBC)
April 12, 2007
So, now researchers believe they can make sperm from a woman’s bone marrow stem cells. And in this way, a woman may one day father a child. From the story in the Independent: Scientists are seeking ethical permission to produce … Read More
April 12, 2007
Stock prices for embryonic stem cell research companies took a hit when the U.S. Senate failed to pass a bill to overturn President Bush’s stem cell funding policy by a veto proof margin. Worcester, MA’s, Advanced Cell Technology–which opened an … Read More
April 12, 2007
It took the Dutch about 20 years to get to the point from accepting euthanasia to countenancing infanticide. It has only taken the Belgians a few years to jump off the same vertical moral cliff. Not unexpectedly–and this isn’t the … Read More
April 12, 2007
This study demonstrates an important point: Hospice care can extend life because, relieved of much suffering by proper care, patients can actually live longer than if they were not receiving such treatment. From the story: This [the study’s results] should … Read More
April 12, 2007
This kind of story sends a chill. Doctors at a Fresno hospital wrongly declared a patient to be dead by neurological criteria (a.k.a. brain death) when he wasn’t actually dead, resulting in a near harvesting of organs from a living … Read More
April 12, 2007
Scientists have uncovered genetic targets that could increase lung-cancer cells’ sensitivity. (Technology Review)
April 12, 2007
A diabetic man described yesterday how a pioneering transplant of pig cells helped to keep his disease under control for the past decade, a hunch that has now been backed up by a scientific study. (Telegraph)
April 12, 2007
A stubborn Senate voted Wednesday to ease restrictions on federally funded embryonic stem cell research, ignoring President Bush’s threat of a second veto on legislation designed to lead to new medical treatments. (AP)
April 12, 2007
For those who have always thought politicians are a sick bunch, this week’s Senate debate on stem cell research provided ample confirmation. (Washington Post)
April 12, 2007
THE Catholic Church has launched a pre-emptive strike on controversial legislation that would allow the cloning of human embryos for medical research, saying it would be “an assault on the dignity of the human person”. (The Age)
