February 12, 2008
I have seen cases like this before: Husband kills sick wife, claims she wanted to die. Facts later disclose he was getting some nookie on the side or wished to pursue other agendas. Classic example: George Delury who “assisted” the … Read More
February 12, 2008
The UCLA study confirms the work first reported in late November of researcher Shinya Yamanaka at Kyoto University and James Thompson at the University of Wisconsin. (ScineceDaily)
February 12, 2008
If a human embryo were something other than a human being in the embryonic stage of development—an embryonic human being—what could it be? (National Review Online)
February 12, 2008
Democrats’ plans involve regulating insurers and offering all Americans a menu of insurance choices similar to those available to federal workers. Republicans would deregulate insurers, arguing that a free market will reduce costs and boost quality. All say savings will … Read More
February 12, 2008
A Quebec man trying to hawk his diseased pancreas over the Internet has found it is a buyer’s market for hypoglycemic organs. (The Canadian Press)
February 12, 2008
The slow rate of progress serves as a reality check for Massachusetts and other states that have followed California’s lead by placing big bets on medical research. Texas voters approved a $3 billion commitment to cancer research in November. New … Read More
February 12, 2008
As Parliament debates changes to the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, the Government is under pressure to include an amendment to allow the use of eggs and sperm that have been grown in the lab from stem cells. (Telegraph)
February 11, 2008
ULCA is the latest research center to successfully create induced pluripotent stem cells. From the story: Researchers at UCLA have become the first in the state to successfully create skin cells that can be used to treat a number of … Read More
February 11, 2008
The plans for women to give birth to their half siblings have, however, been criticised by some ethicists who fear that it could cause the daughters psychological problems, while the resulting children could be confused about their relationship to their … Read More
February 11, 2008
Donating a kidney is an act of compassion. Selling one might be a choice. `But once you add poverty and real inequality to the mix, suddenly choice and autonomy starts to look a lot murkier’ (TheStar)
February 11, 2008
Fertility drugs used by thousands of women to boost their chances of having a baby could double the risk of cancer. The 23,000 women who take clomiphene every year have twice the chance of developing thyroid cancer, a study suggests. … Read More
February 11, 2008
Georgia law leaves the final decision on discontinuing treatment for brain-dead patients to doctors, not family members. DeKalb Medical Center tried to have the case dismissed, but the Georgia Court of Appeals said no, noting that for “incompetent adult patients” … Read More
February 11, 2008
A person wanting to know his or her complete genetic blueprint can already have it done — for $350,000. But whether a personal genome readout becomes affordable to the rest of us could depend on efforts like the one taking … Read More
February 10, 2008
Now here’s a story that gives the old saying, “the milk of human kindness,” a whole new meaning. It turns out that breast milk may contain stem cells. From the story: The Perth scientist [Dr Mark Cregan] who made the … Read More
February 10, 2008
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) would be laughable if it weren’t so expensive and engaged in funding immoral research with borrowed money that I and every other Californian will have to pay back. The latest shinanigan was exposed … Read More
February 8, 2008
I cannot believe the disaster that is befalling the health care system in the UK. Now, it turns out that patients are leaving hospitals malnourished! From the story: Some 140,000 people are discharged from hospital while underweight every year, and … Read More
February 8, 2008
On Thursday, the committee advanced a bill that would ban reproductive cloning and the use of state money or facilities for creating or destroying embryos for stem cell research using a technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer _ more commonly … Read More
February 8, 2008
An era of technological optimism had been gathering momentum since the 1960s, in large part following the stunning successes of the space program. There was a growing confidence that American scientific ingenuity could engineer almost anything—including the human body. Indeed, … Read More
February 8, 2008
Merck agreed yesterday to pay more than $650 million to settle charges that it routinely overbilled the government for its most popular medicines, the arthritis drug Vioxx and the cholesterol drug Zocor, cheating Medicaid out of millions of dollars in … Read More
February 8, 2008
The best defense against fast-moving diseases like bird flu may one day be a DNA vaccine tattoo under your skin. Researchers are experimenting with slightly modified tattoo guns to deliver DNA vaccines — a potent form of vaccine that is … Read More
February 8, 2008
Acupuncture may increase the success rates of fertility treatment, according to a study. The Dutch and US research, published in the British Medical Journal, found for every 10 IVF cycles with acupuncture, there would be one extra pregnancy. (BBC)
February 8, 2008
Police in Nepal were on Friday holding a man who is believed to have masterminded India’s biggest illegal kidney transplant racket, officials said. (AFP)
February 8, 2008
Part of a large North American clinical trial comparing aggressive with less aggressive blood sugar treatment of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in adults with type 2 diabetes has stopped 18 months early because the more aggressive treatment increased risk of … Read More
February 8, 2008
Has there ever been a greater anticlimax in science than the announcement on January 17 that, at last, a cloned human embryo had been created? Even a few months ago the news would have flooded the world’s media; now it … Read More
February 7, 2008
I have warned repeatedly that we suffer from “expertitis,” my term for the tendency to hand the most important policy decisions over to “experts.” Now, a well known environmental author named David Shearman has written an hysterical piece urging that … Read More
