March 13, 2008
When voters swallowed the Proposition 71 snake oil and went billions into debt in a state already drowning in red ink to chase the rainbow of human cloning, they had no idea that the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine would … Read More
March 13, 2008
Take the most complex organ in the human body, superimpose the legacy of biology’s biggest research project, and what have you got? An unprecedented brain map that is set to transform studies of neuroscience and brain disease. (New Scientist)
March 13, 2008
As doctors struggle to eradicate polio worldwide, one of their biggest problems is persuading parents to vaccinate their children. In Belgium, authorities are resorting to an extreme measure: prison sentences. (San Francisco Chronicle)
March 13, 2008
It’s been a year since the parents of a severely disabled child made public their decision to submit their daughter to a hysterectomy, breast surgery and drugs to keep the girl forever small. Today, the couple tell CNN, they believe … Read More
March 13, 2008
How and why women and men are different is a topic of enduring scientific and public interest. Over the past decade, the number of neuroscience studies documenting sex differences in brain anatomy, chemistry, and function, and involving cognitive domains such … Read More
March 13, 2008
A task force has been established to provide infertile couples in poor countries with access to affordable reproductive treatments such as IVF, a European group of fertility experts announced today. They are aiming to roll out a network of cheap … Read More
March 13, 2008
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) joined with The Advertising Council today to launch a Spanish-language national public service campaign designed to encourage Hispanics to become more involved in their health … Read More
March 13, 2008
Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian plans to run for Congress, complicating a Michigan race that is expected to be among the most competitive in the nation. (Associated Press)
March 13, 2008
The age of consent for organ donation in Wisconsin will drop from 18 to 15 years old. A new bill would lower the age in hopes of increasing the number of available organ donors. The bill also would establish a … Read More
March 12, 2008
I have been focusing recently on S 1810, the Kennedy/Brownback Bill, could result in fewer eugenic abortions, or babies refused life-sustaining treatment–with more to come. The related issue of newborn genetic screening was taken up recently by the President’s Council … Read More
March 12, 2008
Here’s just another indication of the potential power of ethically derived stem cells to alleviate human suffering. In rat studies, the stem cells improved the creation of adult stem cells and improved inflammation in aged animals. From the study: The … Read More
March 12, 2008
Jack Kevorkian is running for Congress. From the story: Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian is planning to run for Congress in Michigan. Kevorkian is on parole since being released from prison last year.He tells The Oakland Press newspaper that he … Read More
March 12, 2008
In a report presented to the press, Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE) said it had identified “at least” 104 food or food-related products on sale in the EU that contained manufactured nanomaterials or were produced using nanotechnology and for … Read More
March 12, 2008
Deaf campaigners say that this is eugenics. Wrong. The aim is to prevent eugenics, a warped eugenics that deliberately selects deafness. The law forbids parents with a political or cultural agenda from screening the embryos and then perversely ensuring that … Read More
March 12, 2008
For the first time in the Middle East, an Iranian scientist has produced natural skin from fibroblast cells, critical in wound healing. (Press TV)
March 12, 2008
His is the only one of the candidate proposals that has a chance of getting medical costs under control. An argument for some free-market sanity. (CNNMoney)
March 12, 2008
Medical device companies that are among the biggest financial donors to Melbourne’s top hospitals are being investigated by US authorities over payments to doctors in return for the exclusive use of their products. (The Age)
March 12, 2008
A tiny chemical “brain” which could one day act as a remote control for swarms of nano-machines has been invented. The molecular device – just two billionths of a metre across – was able to control eight of the microscopic … Read More
March 11, 2008
Well, all of the patents over ESCR held by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation have been upheld by the Patent Office. From the story: The rulings mean the foundation will continue to control primaryintellectual property rights to embryonic stem cell … Read More
March 11, 2008
Wanted: Your genes. Hoping to link illnesses to genetics and lifestyle, the federal government is exploring the possibility of recruiting a half-million Americans to contribute their DNA and health information to an ambitious national “biobank.” (Mercury News)
March 11, 2008
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has upheld a second and a third University of Wisconsin-Madison patent covering embryonic stem cell research at the school. (Washington Post)
March 11, 2008
When human umbilical cord blood cells (UCBC) were injected into aged laboratory animals, researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) found improvements in the microenvironment of the hippocampus region of the animals’ brains and a subsequent rejuvenation of neural … Read More
March 10, 2008
Whatever happened to good old fashioned adoption? It’s still here, of course. But in our sense-of-entitlement times, why adopt when we can rent a poor woman’s uterus to gestate a baby for us? That’s seems to be a growing business … Read More
March 10, 2008
As Kevin Warwick gently squeezed his hand into a fist one day in 2002, a robotic hand came to life 3,400 miles away and mimicked the gesture. The University of Reading cybernetics professor had successfully wired the nerves of his … Read More
March 10, 2008
A group of researchers including Kyoto University Prof. Shinya Yamanaka that successfully developed induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, plans to create iPS cells from the cells of Japanese patients suffering from about 10 intractable and incurable diseases, including … Read More
