May 9, 2007
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), have transposed amino acids–the building blocks of proteins–into music. Studying various strings of amino acids, they have discovered short fugues, canons, and musical themes within patterns of proteins involved in a … Read More
May 9, 2007
A blind man has undergone controversial stem cell treatment that he hopes could lead to him regaining his sight. (Scotsman)
May 9, 2007
A new human-mouse hybrid is the first mammalian model that can develop the human AIDS virus (Wired)
May 9, 2007
Scientists in Hong Kong and Australia will soon test an experimental treatment for nose and throat cancer — which “trains” the patient’s own white blood cells to fight the disease. (Reuters)
May 9, 2007
Three years ago, Dr Jerome Groopman, a renowned Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, was “on rounds” in a large hospital, teaching doctors and medical students about the patients on the wards and their various ailments. (BBC)
May 9, 2007
A hospital that performed a controversial procedure that stunted the growth and sexual development of a profoundly disabled child violated Washington state law by sterilizing her, according to an investigative report released Tuesday. (CNN)
May 9, 2007
Should physicians be forced to care for the sick? Should people be compensated for quarantines? When should civil liberties be compromised for the good of the whole? These issues and more were part of a special conference looking at the … Read More
May 9, 2007
For decades Massachusetts has been fertile ground for the life sciences. Our unique concentration of extraordinary universities, teaching hospitals, research facilities, venture capital and talent, spurred by a tradition of entrepreneurialism, provides a strong foundation for the growth in the … Read More
May 9, 2007
A new method to boost growth of blood vessels with stem cells could improve cell therapies for diabetes and heart disease. (Technology Review)
May 8, 2007
Ashley is the little profoundly disabled girl who was subjected to non therapeutic interventions, including a hysterectomy and a mastectomy, in addition to hormone therapies to keep her “small.” At the time, I wrote here at SHS that, at the … Read More
May 8, 2007
Wired has a series of articles addressing the issue of medical tourism with specific regards to organ sales in India. Please read them: Black-Market Scandal Shakes India’s Ban on Organ Sales Inside ‘Kidneyville’: Rani’s Story Why a Kidney (Street Value: … Read More
May 8, 2007
The number of Britons with a terminal illness who are opting to die in a Swiss clinic has doubled in a year. Is it time for the law to change so they can end their lives in Britain? (The Independent)
May 8, 2007
A clinic in London is to genetically screen embryos for a couple to ensure their baby is not born with a squint. (BBC)
May 8, 2007
William Caldwell, chairman and chief executive officer of Advanced Cell Technology, said the company wanted to test the cells in people and had asked the Food and Drug Administration for permission to do so by the end of next year. … Read More
May 8, 2007
Hundreds of elderly Australians planning to end their lives when they can no longer care for themselves are conspiring to manufacture an illegal euthanasia drug. (The Age)
May 8, 2007
With the legislation, scientists will have to protect the participants’ personal data. If they breach this, they face fines and even a jail term. (Channel NewsAsia)
May 8, 2007
In Science, two NIH directors declare that the time has come for a fusion of environmental science and genetics. (Technology Review)
May 8, 2007
Research at Northwestern University has shown that a combination of nanotechnology and biology may enable damaged tissues and organs to heal themselves. (NanoTechWire)
May 8, 2007
Antidepressant drugs have sparked some of the most contentious and long-running battles in the history of medicine. The Food and Drug Administration’s decision last week to change the labels on the drugs is not likely to quiet the shouting. (MSNBC)
May 8, 2007
When Aldous Huxley penned “Brave New World” in 1932, he proved nearly as prophetic as he was creative. (Edwardsville Intelligencer)
May 7, 2007
Well, we have fallen along way off the moral cliff in a very short time; from tossing away embryos with genetic defects for serious illness in infancy, to tossing them away because they are the wrong sex, to destroying those … Read More
May 7, 2007
“Embryonic Stem Cells Can Repair Eyes,” is the headline. But the Reuters story, byline Maggie Fox, about an experiment announced by Advanced Cell Technology (ACT), doesn’t actually demonstrate this. From the story: Writing in the journal Nature Methods, [Robert]Lanza’s team … Read More
May 7, 2007
As advanced science plays a larger role in courtrooms across the country, judges who earned degrees in English or the humanities face the daunting task of making informed decisions about some very technical disputes. That’s why judges from across the … Read More
May 7, 2007
In a strict sense, it means altering live cells and putting them to work. By splicing new genes into the DNA of bacteria or other organisms, scientists can program them to make drugs. They can also introduce new genes into … Read More
May 7, 2007
Artificial insemination begets children without paternity, with troubling cultural and legal consequences. (City Journal)
