October 25, 2007
Trials enter next phase
IN a promising development, one lucky Russian diabetic is now living without using insulin, thanks to an Australian company. (Herald Sun)
Monthly Archives: October 2007
October 25, 2007
House to Vote on New Version of Child Health Bill
Sensing a political advantage, Democrats rushed Wednesday to move a health care bill for children back to the House floor, having made minor changes to win over more Republicans. (New York Times)
October 25, 2007
Op-Ed: Moral, fiscal objections to stem-cell referendum
On Nov. 6, New Jersey citizens will go to the polls to vote for candidates for public office and decide whether to support or oppose several questions that will appear on the ballot. In the case of Public Question 2, … Read More
October 25, 2007
Little consensus on egg freezing
Freezing a woman’s eggs for use later in fertility treatments doesn’t seem to greatly increase birth defects or abnormalities, new data suggest. But the findings, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) in Washington … Read More
October 25, 2007
Happiness is stem cell work
The stem cell researchers in California — like the dairy cows in that state’s annoying ads — are not as happy as they appear, though they both are well off. (Capital Times)
October 25, 2007
Voters favor Democratic ideas to mend healthcare
Democratic ideas for fixing the healthcare system to cover the uninsured enjoy more support among Americans than proposals coming from Republicans, a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll shows. (Los Angeles Times)
October 25, 2007
Religion And Healthcare Should Mix, Study Says
Research shows that religion and spirituality are linked to positive physical and mental health; however, most studies have focused on people with life threatening diseases. A new study from the University of Missouri-Columbia shows that religion helps many individuals with … Read More
October 25, 2007
A New Issue of Journal of American Medical Association is Now Available
Journal of the American Medical Association Vol. 298 No. 15 (October 2007) is now available by subscription only. Letters “Validity of Reported Genetic Risk Factors for Acute Coronary Syndrome” by W. Gregory Feero; Teri A. Manolio; Alan E. Guttmacher; Francis … Read More
October 24, 2007
Whose DNA? Forensic boom stokes ethical fears
But the scale of the forensic revolution is causing unease in Britain, where the government is considering casting the DNA testing net wider by allowing police to take swabs from people committing minor crimes, like dropping litter. (Scotsman)
October 24, 2007
Designing Medical Devices Requires a Pound of Flesh
Most product designers work in studios, using wood and plastic to perfect their creations. But medical-device designers toil in laboratories, working with human tissue and the surgeons who manipulate it. (Wired)
October 24, 2007
French parliament adopts DNA bill
France’s parliament has passed a new bill that introduces tighter curbs on foreigners hoping to join relatives in France – including possible DNA tests. (BBC)
October 24, 2007
Report endorses genetic screening for ‘saviour’ siblings
A Law Foundation commissioned report is calling for a wide debate on the use of genetic testing of embryos and newborns. (Stuff)
October 24, 2007
Cloning bill passes Tas Lower House
Controversial laws to allow therapeutic cloning have been passed by the Lower House of Tasmania’s Parliament. (ABC News)
October 24, 2007
Babies with minor disabilities aborted
More than 100 babies with minor disabilities, such as a cleft palate or club foot, were aborted in one area of England in a three-year period, statistics reveal. (Telegraph)
October 24, 2007
Op-Ed: The Eugenics Temptation
James Watson, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who helped discover the structure of DNA in 1953, recently pronounced the entire population of Africa genetically inferior when it comes to intelligence. And while he hopes that everyone is equal, “people who have … Read More
October 24, 2007
FRESH-Thinking project aims to identify fixes for healthcare system
Scholars at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences are leading a nonpartisan, three-year effort to identify ways to fix the nation’s broken healthcare system. (Stanford Report)
October 23, 2007
Washington Post Columnist “Gets” The Growing Problem with Liberalism
In “The Eugenics Temptation,” Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson hits some nails on the head about the odious James Watson and the new eugenics. He surveys some of the obnoxious, racist, and anti-disabled statements Watson has made over the years, … Read More
October 23, 2007
Panel to try to rule quickly on stem-cell ballot appeal
An appellate court panel will try, but couldn’t promise, to rule quickly on the latest legal challenge to a Nov. 6 ballot question asking voters whether to approve borrowing $450 million for stem-cell research. (Asbury Park Press)
October 23, 2007
Giving Patients a Larger Voice
Should I? Shouldn’t I? Those are questions that increasing numbers of patients ask themselves about such common steps as being screened for lung cancer, taking certain drugs and having back surgery. In many instances, there is no clear answer. The … Read More
October 23, 2007
Book Review: African American Bioethics: Culture, Race, and Identity
The essays in this volume were contributed by various African American ethicists, physicians, and philosophers whose charge was to address African American perspectives of bioethical issues and to answer the question, “Is there a distinctive African American cultural perspective on … Read More
October 23, 2007
Scientists try to build a better ‘womb’ for IVF
In a University of Tokyo laboratory, a pipette-wielding technician delicately positions 10 mouse eggs on a razor-thin microchip lined with a “bed” of cultured uterus tissue. (Boston Globe)
October 23, 2007
Study Finds Rise in Choice of Double Mastectomies
More women with breast cancer are choosing to have their healthy breast surgically removed along with their affected breast, a new study has found. Almost 5 percent of patients decided to have the radical procedure in 2003, up from just … Read More
October 23, 2007
Warning Issued Over Human Egg Freezing
Don’t count on freezing eggs to offset a ticking biological clock just yet. So say new guidelines for fertility specialists that conclude the procedure remains highly experimental even though it is increasingly offered. (AP)
October 23, 2007
Op-Ed: Scientists have a new way to reshape nature, but none can predict the cost
Synthetic biologists say their technology could tackle climate change and feed the hungry, but its dangers are terrifying. (Guardian Unlimited)
October 22, 2007
Will We HEAR the Message? Do Not Dehydrate!
Readers of SHS may recall several months ago I posted on a thwarted dehydration in which doctors and a seriously injured wife had agreed to dehydrate Jesse Ramirez to death because doctors believed he would never gain consciousness. Thank goodness, … Read More
