May 21, 2007
I have long maintained that assisted suicide legalization is not intended to be permanently limited to the “terminally ill for whom nothing else can be done to alleviate suffering,” (which is, in itself, a false premise). After all, as we … Read More
May 21, 2007
In this excellent column published in the Washington Post, disability rights activists Andrew J. Imparato and Anne C. Sommers warn of the emerging new eugenics. Some key quotes: Though society may be inclined to regard [Oliver Wendel] Holmes’s detestable opinion … Read More
May 21, 2007
While I was in Europe, Baby Emilio Gonzales died. The case stimulated much discussion of Futile Care Theory, in which Texas law allows ethics committees to refuse wanted life-sustaining treatment–not because the treatment won’t extend life but because it will. … Read More
May 21, 2007
The UK Department of Health has published a draft version of the Human Tissue and Embryos Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny. The proposals will amend the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 and will permit, amongst other things, the creation of … Read More
May 21, 2007
MIT researchers are developing a new kind of x-ray imager that uses information that traditional machines ignore. By looking at how tissue refracts the rays, not simply at how it absorbs them, the researchers hope to increase the resolution of … Read More
May 21, 2007
Custody battles over frozen sperm and eggs. Children sired by dead men. Women giving birth to children who share none of their genes. These are the realities of modern reproductive medicine, a rapidly evolving area of science that continues to … Read More
May 21, 2007
Director Michael Moore says the U.S. health care system is driven by greed in his new documentary “SiCKO”, and asks of Americans in general, “Where is our soul?” (Reuters)
May 21, 2007
In its preamble, the recently unveiled U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities recognizes”the inherent dignity and worth and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace … Read More
May 21, 2007
The ability to regenerate nerve cells in the body could reduce the effects of trauma and disease in a dramatic way. In two presentations at the NSTI Nanotech 2007 Conference, researchers describe the use of nanotechnology to enhance the regeneration … Read More
May 21, 2007
The central government has been guarded, hinting in the state media that China wasn’t ready to join the few nations that have legalized euthanasia. But in a country where death shadows the underclass in myriad ways — from coal mine … Read More
May 21, 2007
WHEN THE governor of Massachusetts pledged earlier this month to make his state “the capital of stem cell research on the planet”, one could almost hear the collective sigh ringing across the stem cell laboratories of Scotland. Another day, another … Read More
May 21, 2007
For more than a decade, policymakers in the US have considered – but not yet passed – legislation that would outlaw the misuse of genetic information by health insurers and employers. The need for such legislation is growing: more than … Read More
May 20, 2007
“More than 7,000 sign up to eventually be part of ‘Body Worlds’ human anatomy exhibit Stace Owens has no intention of leaving this world when he dies. He plans to stick around for decades or longer, preserved in plastic and … Read More
May 20, 2007
In her article, “EXTRA: Controversial conception” Alexandra Hackett describes human egg donation, and briefly details the experiences of two women: Kelli, an egg donor, and “Jane,†a mother through egg donation. Throughout the article, one can recognize threads of secrecy, … Read More
May 18, 2007
A U-turn has cleared the way for scientists to create hybrid animal-human embryos for stem cell research. The government move followed a White Paper proposal banning the hybrids that attracted criticism from scientists, charities, patient groups and MPs. (The Herald)
May 18, 2007
Just before performing a history-making transplant surgery, Dr. Kenneth McCurry watched a heart beat two hours after it was removed from the donor. (Tribune-Review)
May 18, 2007
People wish for much more from stem cells than researchers will be able to deliver any time soon. That much was obvious from dozens of stem cell-related questions submitted by Register readers in response to an invitation from stem cell … Read More
May 18, 2007
To this day, fingerprints are just the thing when a perpetrator needs to be arrested or a person needs to be identified. British scientists working with David A. Russell also want to make it possible to use fingerprints to reveal … Read More
May 18, 2007
Cyborgs are often imagined as devoid of emotion and empathy. We need a new understanding of the cyborg, one with the capacity for altruism and love. (IEET)
May 18, 2007
The government’s rethink on hybrid embryos is welcome – as long as it recognises that scientific research should be regulated, not legislated. (Guardian Unlimited)
May 17, 2007
Ministers have bowed to pressure to allow the creation of human animal hybrid embryos for research. When the ban was proposed last year there were fears among scientists it would hamper medical breakthroughs. (BBC)
May 17, 2007
Debates about biotechnology tend to be about means. We argue about the limits of what we may do in pursuit of science or medicine. The ends to which new technological powers are put are far less frequently questioned. In The … Read More
May 17, 2007
The California Supreme Court cleared the way for the state’s stem cell research agency to distribute billions of dollars in grants Wednesday when it turned back a last-ditch legal challenge by abortion foes and other critics. (San Jose Mercury News)
May 17, 2007
The case of a Quebec man accused of helping his sick uncle hang himself is threatening to renew pressure on Ottawa to overhaul Canada’s law on assisted suicide. (Toronto Star)
May 17, 2007
Women who are worried they may be too busy during their most fertile years to have children have a new resource to ease their worries. Canada now has its first clinic offering women the option of storing their eggs while … Read More
