March 25, 2008
Archives of Neurology (Neuromics 2008 Part I: March 2008; Vol. 65, No. 3) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Stem Cells on the Brain” by Paul S. Knoepfler, 311-315
March 25, 2008
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics (Volume 17, Issue 02) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Healthcare Disparities: The Salience of Social Class” by ERIKA BLACKSHER, 143-153 “Clinical Cultural Competence and the Threat of Ethical Relativism” by INSOO HYUN, … Read More
March 25, 2008
Artificial Organs (March 2008 – Vol. 32 Issue 3) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Importance of Artificial Organs Research in the Age of Regenerative Medicine” by Yoshinori Mitamura, PhD, 179–182 “Artificial Organs 2007: A Year in Review” … Read More
March 25, 2008
Under intense pressure from the Catholic Church and others, Prime Minister Gordon Brown is allowing a free vote on the notorious embryo bill, that we first discussed the here at SHS a few days ago. From the story: Mr Brown … Read More
March 25, 2008
Struggling to contain a dangerous epidemic of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, known as XDR-TB, the South African government’s policy is to hospitalize those unlucky enough to have the disease until they are no longer infectious. Hospitals in two of the three … Read More
March 25, 2008
In January, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, movers and shakers lined up to spit into test tubes — the first step to having snippets of their DNA analyzed by 23andMe, a personalized gene-testing company that for $999 … Read More
March 25, 2008
Many computer scientists take it on faith that one day machines will become conscious. Led by futurist Ray Kurzweil, proponents of the so-called strong-AI school believe that a sufficient number of digitally simulated neurons, running at a high enough speed, … Read More
March 25, 2008
Kurzweil’s notion of a singularity is taken from cosmology, in which it signifies a border in spacetime beyond which normal rules of measurement do not apply (the edge of a black hole, for example). The word was first used to … Read More
March 25, 2008
The law will make the act of dealing in organ sales illegal, whether carried out in Israel or abroad after a number of cases emerged involving Israelis working as middlemen in organ sales abroad. (Jerusalem Post)
March 25, 2008
It may sound unthinkable — the idea of denying life support to some people in a public health disaster like an epidemic. But a new report says doctors, health care workers and the public need to start thinking about it. … Read More
March 25, 2008
The Science Council of Japan’s subcommittee on reproductive assistance medicine recently issued a report that said surrogate births should, in principle, be prohibited through legislation. (The Daily Yomiuri)
March 25, 2008
Consumer groups warn that potentially toxic manipulated materials have been introduced into foods and packaging—even before regulations are in place. (BusinessWeek)
March 24, 2008
Jeanne Deibert knew as soon as she saw the ultrasound. It didn’t matter that the doctor told her that what looked on the screen like pockets in her son’s brain would likely disappear as he got closer to birth. That … Read More
March 24, 2008
Dr. John Kelsoe has spent his career trying to identify the biological roots of bipolar disorder. In December, he announced he had discovered several gene mutations closely tied to the disease, also known as manic depression. Then Kelsoe, a prominent … Read More
March 24, 2008
Are we being sold a bill of goods about the number of patients waiting for transplants in the United States? There is reason to think so. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is the Richmond, Va.-based organization that holds … Read More
March 24, 2008
Therapeutic cloning has been successfully used to treat Parkinson’s disease in mice, US researchers say. The study in Nature Medicine provides the best evidence so far that the controversial technique could one day help people with the condition. (BBC)
March 24, 2008
It is a bitter irony that even as we are enlarging our commitment to human equality in many areas, we are turning our backs on it in others. In particular, we may be about to eliminate from our society people … Read More
March 24, 2008
The Government is heading for its biggest confrontation with the Roman Catholic Church to date over its controversial new laws which will allow the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos. (Times Online)
March 23, 2008
Not content with thousands of euthanasia and assisted suicide deaths a year, the Dutch are about to have access to a suicide guide. From the story: A scientific guide to DIY suicide is to go on sale in the Netherlands … Read More
March 22, 2008
The British Government is finding the road to passage of its new Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill extremely controversial. One would hope so. Consider some of its provisions as described by the Telegraph: Hybrid embryos: The Bill permits the creation … Read More
March 20, 2008
That horrible case in San Luis Obispo, in which Dr. Hootan Roozrokh, an organ transplant surgeon is accused of attempting to hasten the death of Ruben Navarro, a dependent adult to harvest his organs, is going to trial. From the … Read More
March 20, 2008
A call for papers from Archives of Surgery: During 2008, we are soliciting manuscripts on disparities in health care. The editorial board has selected this topic as our year-long theme. We will publish these manuscripts in each issue as the … Read More
March 20, 2008
The ability to see requires healthy eyes, but it also requires that signals can get from the eyes to the parts of the brain involved in vision. A Boston neuroscientist hopes to deliver a ray of hope to the blind … Read More
March 20, 2008
The guidelines require physicians to make referrals for abortions or other procedures they don’t wish to perform themselves. But there is still confusion over whether a doctor would actually lose his or her certification as a specialist for refusing to … Read More
March 20, 2008
There is evidence that brain imaging technology is being used to interrogate suspected terrorists despite concerns that it may not be reliable, and that it might inadvertently promote abuse of detainees, according to a Penn State researcher. He says the … Read More
