October 8, 2007
One of the tactics of the euthanasia/assisted suicide movement is to get medical organizations to “go neutral” on assisted suicide. Which is a ridiculous notion when you think of it. I mean, how can a responsible professional association not have … Read More
October 8, 2007
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2007 has been awarded to two Americans who pioneered ways of “knocking out” specific genes in mice to reveal their function and their impact on disease. (New Scientist)
October 8, 2007
What if your doctor could swipe a wand over your neck and reveal whether you have hidden heart disease? That is now possible in places other than the sickbay of the starship Enterprise. Miniature ultrasound machines are starting to make … Read More
October 8, 2007
Tens of thousands of Medicare recipients have been victims of deceptive sales tactics and had claims improperly denied by private insurers that run the system’s huge new drug benefit program and offer other private insurance options encouraged by the Bush … Read More
October 8, 2007
Medical ethicist Daniel Sokol considers the controversy stirred up by a mother’s request for doctors to give her severely disabled daughter a hysterectomy to stop her from starting menstruation. (BBC)
October 8, 2007
Craig Venter, the controversial DNA researcher involved in the race to decipher the human genetic code, has built a synthetic chromosome out of laboratory chemicals and is poised to announce the creation of the first new artificial life form on … Read More
October 8, 2007
The debate now raging here over the children’s health insurance program offers a cautionary lesson to Democrats running for president. It shows how hard it will be to persuade many Republicans to sign on to their vision of universal coverage. … Read More
October 7, 2007
Proposition 71 established a closed doors grant approval process, in which the CIRM doles out hundreds of millions of borrowed taxpayers dollars to private industry and public entities to conduct human cloning and embryonic stem cell (and related) research. All … Read More
October 6, 2007
“Dr. Rat’s Brain Augmentation Surgery,” runs into a hitch.
October 5, 2007
Cell-size nanothreads spun from the tip of a needle that uses pressure rather than an electric charge promise novel regeneration treatments. (Scientific American)
October 5, 2007
Over the past year, a major ethical debate has raged in the United Kingdom over whether scientists should be allowed to use animal eggs in their attempts to create cloned human embryonic stem cells. Scientists say that these cells could … Read More
October 5, 2007
The California Institute of Regenerative Medicine is having more trouble than it may have expected giving away millions of dollars to stem-cell researchers. (Wired)
October 5, 2007
Romney is quick to remind supporters of the U.S. senator from New York’s dramatic 1993 failure to reform U.S. health care, which many Americans felt overstepped the role of first lady. Despite all that, experts say Clinton’s plan borrows heavily … Read More
October 5, 2007
The stolen bones, skin and tissue — which are nearly impossible to trace from donor to recipient because of forged documents — were transplanted in unsuspecting medical patients worldwide, the grand jury in Philadelphia found. Families of the dead had … Read More
October 5, 2007
Microsoft is starting its long-anticipated drive into the consumer health care market by offering free personal health records on the Web and pursuing a strategy that borrows from the company’s successful formula in personal computer software. (New York Times)
October 4, 2007
Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday she would sign an executive order rescinding President George W. Bush’s restrictions on U.S. government funding for embryonic stem cell research. (FOXNews)
October 4, 2007
I used to support a single payer plan for national health insurance. Now, I am very dubious. Here’s one reason from Canada. From the story: A problem in Canada’s hospitals is sending scores of pregnant women south of the border … Read More
October 4, 2007
This old show of Issues Etc. Radio Program just became available on MP 3. In it, I respond to Ron Reagan’s 2004 speech to the Democratic National Convention. I point out that RR played a big game of bait and … Read More
October 4, 2007
Clinical trials have shown that implantable cardioverter defibrillators can save people at risk for sudden cardiac death. The leading organizations of doctors who treat such patients have set guidelines for their use, and Medicare and health plans cover most of … Read More
October 4, 2007
DR. DAVID A. STOKER, a plastic surgeon in Marina Del Rey, Calif., has a surgical cure for the ravages of motherhood. He, like many plastic surgeons nationwide, calls it a “mommy makeover.†Aimed at mothers, it usually involves a trifecta: … Read More
October 4, 2007
Dangerous changes in cancer cells which allow them to spread around the body could be triggered by the body’s own stem cells, say US scientists. (BBC)
October 4, 2007
Compared to conventional tests, human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing enables earlier detection of lesions that lead to cervical cancer, Dutch researchers say. (HealthDay)
October 4, 2007
Health Minister Pete Hodgson should be required to hold widespread public consultation before approving the transplant of pig parts into humans – because the country is ill-equipped to tackle a new disease that could arise from the treatments, a Wellington … Read More
October 4, 2007
Parkinson’s medical practice combines quaint house calls of yore with decidedly 21st-century technology. For a yearly fee of $500, Parkinson makes an initial visit to his patients in their apartments and offers two additional visits as needed. But he is … Read More
October 4, 2007
Dr. Sherman Silber says he can extend a woman’s fertility by decades. All he needs is an ovary and some ice. (River Front Times)
