December 8, 2007
Stories like this are finally breaking the back of the CURES! CURES! CURES! ESCR/cloning hype brigade: A patient is being treated with bone marrow stem cells as part of spinal surgery to help in healing. From the story in the … Read More
December 7, 2007
As genetic tests multiply and become widely available, more people face a vexing question: If I discover I have a genetic mutation linked to a serious illness, am I obliged to tell family members who share my DNA? Some experts … Read More
December 7, 2007
Five months before she died of a rare form of stomach cancer, Sandra McNamara uncovered a devastating family legacy. Her illness was closely linked to a genetic mutation. She had it, and that meant her three sisters and their children … Read More
December 7, 2007
The potential for conflict of interest is always an issue when billions of dollars are on the line. But it is built into the system of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, tasked with distributing $300 million of borrowed money … Read More
December 7, 2007
A new source of $750 million in funding could soon become available for the perennially cash-starved biotech industry, particularly stem cell firms. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine will hold its first meeting to discuss a biotech loan program on … Read More
December 7, 2007
Researchers in two genetics studies funded by the Veterans Affairs Department broke federal rules by crossing the U.S. border to pay subjects in Mexico for blood samples, government inspectors say. (The Washington Times)
December 7, 2007
Human dignity has fallen on hard times. Nearly 60 years ago, it was the bedrock of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. But now bioethicists, who are tasked with the protection of life, are questioning whether or not it … Read More
December 7, 2007
The issue of people traveling to Switzerland to die was frequently discussed during 2007 – not only in the Swiss media but also in Swiss bars, explained the jury of journalists on Thursday. (swissinfo)
December 7, 2007
Australian church leaders have called for a review of federal legislation passed a year ago allowing therapeutic cloning in Australia, based on the iPS breakthrough, but scientists have argued that it would be premature to reinstate a ban. (Sydney Morning … Read More
December 7, 2007
Skin cells reprogrammed to act like embryonic stem cells–a breakthrough first reported in human cells 2 weeks ago–are already showing promise as a therapeutic agent. In today’s online edition of Science, researchers describe using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to … Read More
December 6, 2007
Research into the new iPS cells is moving forward at a seemingly breathtaking pace. Mouse studies carried out at Harvard demonstrate that they have the capacity to treat sickle-cell anemia. From the story: Mice with a human sickle-cell anemia disease … Read More
December 6, 2007
The only way for doctors to verify that cancer drugs are reaching a patient’s tumor is to scan patients after weeks of treatments to see if the tumor has shrunk. In the hopes of shortening this process, improving outcomes for … Read More
December 6, 2007
When researchers at Cornell, the University of Bonn and the University of Pittsburgh transplanted living embryonic heart cells into cardiac tissue of mice that had suffered heart attacks, the mice became resistant to cardiac arrhythmias, thereby avoiding one of the … Read More
December 6, 2007
Scientists seeking to create embryos that are part human and part animal will have to wait until next year before beginning work, after a Government watchdog decided to delay a decision on two licence applications. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology … Read More
December 6, 2007
A new wave of products targeting the blossoming personal-genomics industry has recently become available. The first commercial whole-genome sequencing service was launched last week by startup Knome, based in Cambridge, MA. (See “Get Your Genome Sequenced for $350,000.”) Three other … Read More
December 6, 2007
He was the man who brought the world Dolly the sheep, but 10 years on why has Professor Ian Wilmut turned his back on the cloning of human embryos? (Yorkshire Post)
December 5, 2007
Robert Latimer murdered his 12-year-old-daughter Tracy in 1993 because she was disabled by cerebral palsy. (The picture is of Tracy and her father.) While many Canadians supported Latimer as a loving father who put his daughter out of misery, he … Read More
December 5, 2007
Mexico City lawmakers have approved a measure to allow terminally ill patients to refuse treatment. (BBC)
December 5, 2007
A few months ago I wrote a magazine article about scientists who are building robots capable of a rudimentary form of sociability. As part of my research, I spent a few days at the humanoid robotics laboratory at M.I.T. And … Read More
December 4, 2007
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, once dedicated to funding human cloning and ESC research, has shifted gears. Now, it is going to also fund alternative research that does not create or destroy human embryos. From the story: California’s stem … Read More
December 4, 2007
A row of fog-colored jars runs neatly along the edge of a black-topped table. Inside each, a white sphere, roughly the size of your fist, floats. Black screws surround the lids, from which a series of clear, plastic tubing reaches … Read More
December 4, 2007
The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston may soon close its doors to poor illegal immigrants who need cancer care, a move that could increase the patient load in Harris County. The medical school, unable to meet the demand … Read More
December 4, 2007
While the excitement continues to swirl around the recent breakthrough of converting skin cells to stem cells, other researchers are quietly pursuing a new type of stem cell discovered in menstrual blood. These menstrual stem cells could offer several advantages. … Read More
December 4, 2007
Better NHS funding of fertility treatment will be crucial to preventing hazardous twin and triplet births, the IVF watchdog said today as it launched a national strategy to reduce rates of multiple pregnancies. (Times)
December 4, 2007
Last year, the Italian poet Piergiorgio Welby announced at a press conference that after battling muscular dystrophy for four decades, he would discontinue his ventilator as an act of “euthanasia.†While the ventilator was being stopped, he received large doses … Read More
