March 20, 2008
As thousands of medical students await word this week on residency programs, two specialties concerned with physical appearance — dermatology and plastic surgery — are among the most competitive. (New York Times)
March 20, 2008
A group of pharmacists asked the Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday to throw out a rule that forces them to dispense emergency contraception despite moral objections, claiming it amounts to illegal coercion. (AP)
March 20, 2008
Organ transplantation is truly one of the miracles of modern medicine, saving the lives of many patients and improving the quality of life for many more. Given the ever-increasing gap between the number of organs needed and the supply, clinicians … Read More
March 20, 2008
The controversial Euthanasia group Dignitas has started helping people kill themselves by putting a plastic bag filled with helium over their heads – and filming it. There are at least four known cases of the new method of suicide. (Daily … Read More
March 20, 2008
Without question, The Ethics of Bioethics is a must-read for all persons involved with bioethics. This well-written, well-organized paperback seeks to analyze the many facets of ethics in the field of bioethics. Several authors discuss the issue of a code … Read More
March 19, 2008
Bioethics is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “FELICITOMETRY: MEASURING THE ‘QUALITY’ IN QUALITY OF LIFE” by CHARLES KOWALSKI, STEVEN PENNELL AND AMIRAM VINOKUR, 10-Mar-2008 “GIVING ADDICTS THEIR DRUG OF CHOICE: THE PROBLEM OF CONSENT” by TOM WALKER, 4-Mar-2008 … Read More
March 19, 2008
The news at the NHS goes from crisis to crisis. Now, women in labor are being turned away from hospitals. From the story: Almost half of NHS hospitals were forced to turn women in labour away last year because they … Read More
March 19, 2008
Peter Singer once again wants to shove human “non persons” out of the life boat. Not content with advocating infanticide, he also promotes futile care theory and suggests that patients with dementia be denied antibiotics and that other patients be … Read More
March 19, 2008
Not content with doctors killing the terminally ill, people with disabilities, the chronically ill, the depressed, and babies born with disabilities–not to mention the seriously ill who did not ask to be killed–the Dutch Parliament will now debate allowing doctors … Read More
March 19, 2008
Ethical Theory and Moral Practice (Volume 11 Number 1) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Consumer Rights to Informed Choice on the Food Market” by Volkert Beekman, 61 – 72
March 19, 2008
Journal of the American Medical Association (Vol. 299 No. 8, February 27, 2008) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Clinical Applications of Blood-Derived and Marrow-Derived Stem Cells for Nonmalignant Diseases” by Richard K. Burt; Yvonne Loh; William Pearce; … Read More
March 19, 2008
Sociology of Health & Illness (February 2008 – Vol. 30) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Review article: the sociology of dying, death and bereavement” by Catherine Exley, Originally published January 2004, Volume 26, Issue 1: 1-133 “The … Read More
March 19, 2008
Developing World Bioethics (Vol. 8 Issue 1, April 2008) is now available. Articles include: “HIV/AIDS, PREGNANCY AND REPRODUCTIVE AUTONOMY: RIGHTS AND DUTIES” by CHARLES G. NGWENA AND REBECCA J. COOK, iii–vi “MANDATORY HIV TESTING IN PREGNANCY: IS THERE EVER A … Read More
March 19, 2008
The Oregon Department of Human Services has issued its virtually worthless annual report for 2007. (Hit this link for details about the empirical unreliability of this yearly charade.) Based on what the Department was told by prescribing physicians–that is where … Read More
March 19, 2008
Advances in genetics and genomics are revolutionizing biomedical science and providing great promise for the future of clinical practice. The magnitude, scope, and pace of discovery in genetics and genomics research are at unprecedented levels and continue to increase exponentially. … Read More
March 19, 2008
In fields as varied as heart disease, bone health and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an explosion of knowledge in genetics is poised to revolutionize medicine, said scientists gathered at a special news conference Tuesday. (Washington Post)
March 19, 2008
The plan comes as India, which has a population of 1.1 billion people, is trying to encourage people to have smaller families to ease poverty. (AFP)
March 19, 2008
Thrusting New Jersey again into the vanguard of social change, a bipartisan group of legislators unveiled a proposal on Monday that would require all residents to have health care coverage within three years. (New York Times)
March 19, 2008
John Harris, who always challenges conventional thinking in bioethics, especially if it derives its opinions from conservative principles, delivered a series of lectures in 2006 at the James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization at Oxford University. The mission of … Read More
March 18, 2008
There are two stories that, if true, may be causally linked. First, the AMA News is reporting that medical students lose empathy for their patients during the course of medical school. From the story: It only takes a year to … Read More
March 18, 2008
The New York Times has reached a new low–and for that biased rag, that’s saying a lot. Now Jane E. Brody, the Times’ health columnist, is pushing two assisted suicide facilitation groups to her readers–including those who aren’t terminally ill. … Read More
March 18, 2008
Athletes who take human growth hormone may not be getting the boost they expected. While growth hormone adds some muscle, it doesn’t appear to improve strength or exercise capacity, according to a review of studies that tested the hormone in … Read More
March 18, 2008
Progress on the road to regenerating major body parts, salamander-style, could transform the treatment of amputations and major wounds. (Scientific American)
March 18, 2008
Between now and next month, Lou Bruhn, 65, of Fairfax County will have to make an important decision about his medical care: Should he pay $1,500 a year to stick with his primary care physician of three years — a … Read More
March 18, 2008
TERMINALLY ill people wanting a doctor to help them die would have to live in Victoria for at least 12 months to prevent “death tourists” from flying into the state, under a private member’s bill. (The Age)
