August 7, 2007
Human cloning is very hard to do, apparently. Indeed, despite the race to win a Nobel Prize by creating the first embryonic stem cells from cloned embryos, I only know of one experiment that seems to have resulted in the … Read More
August 7, 2007
Old people require a new model for care. They are not just adults with more things going wrong. They require a specialized approach, which geriatrics can best deliver. (Seattle Times)
August 7, 2007
One in four Americans with health insurance are still underinsured — meaning they are often using up their savings or turning to credit cards to cover medical expenses, according to a survey in the September Consumer Reports. (HealthDay)
August 7, 2007
SYDNEY could become the first city in the world to produce stem cells from cloned human embryos with a $500,000 grant being offered by Premier Morris Iemma to the first scientist to do it. (Daily Telegraph)
August 7, 2007
The main proponents of “universal coverage” want to throw more money at the current health care system, which strikes me as unwise. I believe that the “universal coverage” mantra is dysfunctional for the same reason that “more money for public … Read More
August 7, 2007
We know that infant mortality rates of African-Americans eclipse those of other ethnic groups; that Latinos die from asthma at a rate four times higher than whites and, from a recent Harvard study, that unconscious racial bias affects the way … Read More
August 7, 2007
Disability rights groups, typically supportive of individual liberty, have helped defeat bills out of fear that HMOs would see a chance to cut care. (Los Angeles Times)
August 6, 2007
Minds and Machines 17(1), March 2007 issue is now available by subscription only. Articles include: Original Papers “The Status of Machine Ethics: A Report from the AAAI Symposium” by Michael Anderson, Susan Leigh Anderson, 1-10. “Integrated A.I. Systems” by Kristinn … Read More
August 6, 2007
Xenotransplantation 14(4), July 2007 issue is now available by subscription only. Relevant articles include: Satellite Symposium on Xenotransplantation “Satellite Symposium Held in Conjunction with the World Transplant Congress, Boston, 2006” by Emanuele Cozzi and Megan Sykes, 347–347. “The Proactive Role … Read More
August 6, 2007
Pediatric Transplantation 11(6), September 2007 issue is now available by subscription only. Articles of relevance include: Editorials “Trans-plan-sition! Transplantation and Transition” by Janet E. McDonagh and D. A. Kelly, 578–581. “Cord Blood Transplantation for Sickle Cell Anemia: Bust or Boom?” … Read More
August 6, 2007
Paul Lee got his liver from an executed Chinese prisoner; Karam in Egypt bought a kidney for his sister for $5,300; in Istanbul Hakan is holding out for $30,700 for one of his kidneys. (Reuters)
August 6, 2007
China’s top family planning agency has cracked down on crude and insensitive slogans used by rural authorities to enforce the country’s strict population limits, state media said Sunday. (AP)
August 6, 2007
Imaging software combines data from several imaging technologies to create an interactive 3-D map of the brain. (Technology Review)
August 6, 2007
How is it possible to write an entire commentary about embryonic stem cell research without using the words “embryo” or “embryonic”? By design. Former U.S. Sen. John Danforth did it in “Finding some common ground on stem cells” (July 17). … Read More
August 6, 2007
Texas patients will soon get access to more information about the price of healthcare and about how their health-insurance plans operate because of a law that’s slated to take effect next month. (Star-Telegram)
August 5, 2007
The terrible story of the physician indicted for allegedly attempting to hasten the death of a disabled dying patient named Ruben Navarro in order to be able to harvest his organs–about which I first wrote a few days ago– is … Read More
August 4, 2007
Neil Munro is a wonderful journalist for the National Journal–one of the most prestigious public policy journals in the world. He covers biotechnology like no other and has a story out “Two Roads on Stem-Cell Policy” (no link available) about … Read More
August 3, 2007
All Americans want to increase the quality, affordability, and portability of healthcare. The 2008 election presents a decisive debate on how to reach this goal. (Boston Globe)
August 3, 2007
The world of stem cell research was set reeling two years ago when its most successful practitioner, the Korean scientist Hwang Woo Suk, was found to have fabricated much of his work. But according to a new post-mortem of his … Read More
August 3, 2007
The UK National Stem Cell Network is to hold its first national research meeting at the Edinburgh Conference Centre in Heriot-Watt University in April. (The Herald)
August 3, 2007
Doctors are becoming more assertive in refusing to treat patients for religious reasons, expanding the list of services they won’t provide beyond abortion to include artificial insemination, use of fetal tissues and even prescribing Viagra. (USA Today)
August 3, 2007
The five speculative theories on posthuman that I investigated include: disembodied information; deconstructed DNA; prosthetic entity; science fiction characterization; and the uninterrupted progression of human evolution. These theories contain unique yet shared attributes which pertain to human nature, the future … Read More
August 3, 2007
Using the pressure waves in the ear caused by tongue movements, researchers have designed a technique for interfacing with computers. For the millions of people living with spinal cord injuries, this hands-free, non-intrusive method to work with computers could enable … Read More
August 2, 2007
The final verdict is in, and Wu-suk Hwang definitely did not clone human embryos. What he appears to have done is create stem cell lines from parthenogenesis in which eggs are stimulated to divide to the point that stem cells … Read More
August 2, 2007
Parents will be allowed to create children specifically to help cure older brothers and sisters of common conditions under proposals unveiled today by MPs and peers. (Telegraph)
