March 18, 2008
A woman suffering from an incurable and disfiguring cancer failed on Monday in her bid to set a legal precedent in France for patients seeking medical help to end their own lives. (Reuters)
March 18, 2008
AS PRODUCTS made with engineered nanomaterials find their way into the marketplace in greater numbers, the federal agency most responsible for ensuring the safety of these products will be the Food & Drug Administration. From cosmetics to food packaging, and … Read More
March 17, 2008
The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (Vol. 36 Issue 1, Spring 2008) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Introduction: Religions and Cultures of East and West: Perspectives on Bioethics” by Robert M. Sade, 7–9 “Go and Tend … Read More
March 17, 2008
American Journal of Transplantation (Vol. 8 Issue 4 April 2008) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “The AJT Report. News and issues that affect organ and tissue transplantation” by SUE PONDROM, 731–732 “Open Letter to the FDA: New … Read More
March 17, 2008
Aging Cell Volume 7, Issue 2, April 2008 is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Advances in vertebrate aging research 2007” by Steven Austad, 119–124 “Epidermal stem cells are retained in vivo throughout skin aging” by Adam Giangreco, Mei … Read More
March 17, 2008
Nanotoxicology is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Human health implications of nanomaterial exposure” by Thilo Papp a; Dietmar Schiffmann a; Dieter Weiss a; Vince Castranova b; Val Vallyathan b; Qamar Rahman c, 06 March 2008 Abstract Nanotechnology presents … Read More
March 17, 2008
In London the other day I had dinner with an engaging transhumanist and a couple of scholars who are somewhat skeptical of the transhumanist project (since it was London, perhaps I should say sceptical). Not all transies are equally engaging … Read More
March 17, 2008
When a drug can cost more than $300,000 a year, the right dose becomes a matter of public debate. (New York Times)
March 17, 2008
Victoriano del R¿o has a favorite animal, a majestic bull named Alcalde, who is nearing the end of his days after faithfully and lucratively siring more than 400 offspring. Loath to see him go, del R¿o is paying a company … Read More
March 17, 2008
India is set to draft new laws to police surrogate pregnancies amid fears that the country’s booming “rent-a-womb†industry is running out of control. (Times Online)
March 17, 2008
[Rep. Melanie George] Marshall said she decided not to resurrect the bill because of groundbreaking research results that were announced in November. In two separate studies, researchers were able to use adult skin cells to produce what were essentially the … Read More
March 17, 2008
The government’s new fertility bill is under fire on religious, moral and even scientific grounds. (Times Online)
March 17, 2008
A gathering known as the Stem Cell Summit might sound so controversial it would need a steely moderator, or even police protection, so politically delicate is the science of using embryos in medical research. (Chicago Tribune)
March 16, 2008
This news out of the UK is unexpected and a validation of what some advocates have been saying for years. The Royal College of Psychiatrists–not pro lifers–have determined that women who have abortions are at risk of mental breakdown. From … Read More
March 16, 2008
The assisted suicide group Dignitas has opened it’s killing house next to a brothel. From the story: The Swiss assisted suicide group Dignitas, which was evicted from its flat in Zurich after complaints about bodies in the lift, has opened … Read More
March 15, 2008
Now, what makes the moral issues, the ethical issues in newborn screening difficult to grapple with is, as Adam correctly points out, that there is a plurality of issues pulling our judgment in different directions. There is in the first … Read More
March 15, 2008
Brave New Britain just keeps getting Braver and Newer: Now there is a serious discussion of putting the DNA of children into a database because they might become future criminals. From the story: Primary school children should be eligible for … Read More
March 15, 2008
Now this is a particularly interesting illustration of the discrimination that the assisted suicide movement would imbed into the law. A man was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to five years in jail for assisting the suicide of his … Read More
March 14, 2008
With the right coaxing, stem cells can turn into almost any kind of tissue, but first they must be grown into clusters called embryoid bodies. Taking care of those cells is a real hassle. They are usually grown in plastic … Read More
March 14, 2008
Patients nearing death often experience distressing symptoms.1 2 Many patients and physicians are confronted with complex decisions about practices surrounding end of life care that can affect the mode of dying. As an option of last resort, sedating drugs can … Read More
March 14, 2008
The business has thrived for years in Egypt. The country has no laws and little oversight regarding most transplants. Statistics are unreliable. Medical groups estimate that as many as 500 unlicensed kidney transplants are performed each year, but a legislator … Read More
March 14, 2008
In laboratory studies conducted at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), researchers discovered that nanocomposite particles carrying radioactive gold directly to tumors reduced cancer growth by 45% in just eight days. (Medical News Today)
March 14, 2008
Representatives of 21 stem-cell funding agencies from 19 countries — members of the International Stem Cell Forum — met in San Francisco at the end of February to discuss collaborations and how to coordinate cell banks and registries. Among them … Read More
March 14, 2008
You may have noticed the recent heated debate concerning embryonic stem cell research has been completely phased out of the mainstream media, whereas a few months ago it was constantly disputed. Strangely enough, this hushed silence coincided with a remarkable … Read More
March 14, 2008
Male and female sand dollars typically reproduce by releasing sperm and eggs into the water where they join and become baby larvae. Sand dollar larvae had previously been observed cloning themselves to accelerate a population boom when food is abundant. … Read More
