April 27, 2009
Most expectant parents can’t wait to see what their child looks like, and what that child will become. But now, parents can choose to take the surprise out of finding out by determining eye color, hair color, gender and even … Read More
April 27, 2009
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says Labor MPs will not be allowed a conscience vote when new surrogacy laws go before State Parliament. The State Government has decided to decriminalise altruistic surrogacy, although commercial surrogacy will remain illegal. (ABC News (Australian … Read More
April 27, 2009
New research may help unlock vegetative and minimally conscious patients. (Slate Magazine)
April 24, 2009
A cloned beagle named Ruppy – short for Ruby Puppy – is the world’s first transgenic dog. She and four other beagles all produce a fluorescent protein that glows red under ultraviolet light. (New Scientist)
April 24, 2009
A roll-your-own blood vessel, grown in the laboratory from a person’s own cultured cells, works well in kidney dialysis patients, making it the first complex bioengineered tissue part built without synthetic components. The technique may someday be used to grow … Read More
April 24, 2009
Rarely will physicians use the word “miraculous” when discussing patient recoveries. But that’s the very phrase orthopaedic physicians and scientists are using in upstate New York to describe their emerging stem cell research that could have a profound impact on … Read More
April 24, 2009
In a spare one-room office at Nasa’s Silicon Valley campus, a small band of futurists is plotting to save the world. The means are not a revolutionary technology or a new world order (though both may be byproducts). Rather, a … Read More
April 24, 2009
Two decisions by the National Commission for Assisted Human Reproduction allowed two couples to select embryos to make sure they were free of genes predisposing them to breast or thyroid cancer. (Monsters and Critics)
April 24, 2009
In marked contrast to Spain, Germany has decided to tighten the rules on genetic screening of embryos. Measures to be accepted by parliament tomorrow will affect screening in three main areas. . . (euronews)
April 24, 2009
Researchers have developed a new way to make embryonic-like stem cells by soaking them in genetically engineered proteins, a new step toward using ordinary cells to treat disease. (Reuters)
April 24, 2009
Call for Papers and Presentations: Biodigital lives: making, consuming and archiving the lives of technoscience: 14 July 2009, 9am – 5.30, Educational Development Building (EDB), University of Sussex, UK, Hosted by the Centre for the Economic and Social Aspects of Genomics … Read More
April 24, 2009
JAMA (Volume 301, Number 16, April 22/29, 2009) is now available by subscription only. Articles Include: “Continuity of Outpatient and Inpatient Care by Primary Care Physicians for Hospitalized Older Adults” by Gulshan Sharma, Kathlyn E. Fletcher, Dong Zhang, Yong-Fang Kuo, Jean L. … Read More
April 23, 2009
South Korean scientists said they have cloned a piglet whose organs were genetically modified to make them more suitable for human transplants. Lead scientist Lim Gio-Bin said the cloned piglet, born on April 3, had been genetically altered to lack … Read More
April 23, 2009
Dr. Stephen O. Sodeke, interim director of the National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care at Tuskegee University, was recently appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to membership in the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on … Read More
April 23, 2009
Women’s groups cheered the government’s decision to allow 17-year-olds to buy the “morning-after” emergency contraceptive without a doctor’s prescription, but conservatives denounced it as a blow to parental supervision of teens. (AP News)
April 23, 2009
Two bills aimed at banning human reproductive cloning in Texas came up for public hearing in a House committee Tuesday. The sticking point may be how human cloning is defined in the proposals. (AP)
April 23, 2009
How much would you bid to have your personal genome mapped? In a sign that genome-mapping is becoming increasingly common, a company called Knome plans to offer its personal gene-sequencing service to the highest bidder in an eBay auction set … Read More
April 23, 2009
Our 3rd HEC Swap Shop (Hospital Ethics Committee) Burlington, VT May 1, 2009 Hampton Inn & Conference Center Colchester, VT A gathering of Hospital Ethics Committee members and Clinical ethics consultants to share interesting, surprising, and vexing cases. Registration Form … Read More
April 23, 2009
The Division of Ethics of Science and Technology Sector for Social and Human Sciences UNESCO International Conference on Bioethics and Human Rights, Baku, Azerbaijan (17-19 June 2009 On June 17-19, 2009 in Baku, Azerbaijan, and in the framework of the celebration of the … Read More
April 23, 2009
Adderall, a stimulant composed of mixed amphetamine salts, is commonly prescribed for children and adults who have been given a diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. But in recent years Adderall and Ritalin, another stimulant, have been adopted as cognitive enhancers: … Read More
April 23, 2009
Here on The Toybox, we cover gadgets that are intended to make your life better: smartphones that allow you to check e-mail without dragging around the laptop; Bluetooth headsets that allow you to communicate hands-free; networking gear that allows you … Read More
April 22, 2009
Controversial doctor filmed creating embryos before injecting them into wombs of women wanting cloned babies. (The Independent)
April 22, 2009
The latest advances in stem-cell research mean someone could some day become a biological single parent, the source of both the egg and the sperm needed to make a baby. (Globe and Mail)
April 22, 2009
US stem-cell researchers are applauding draft guidelines released by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) last week to govern federally funded research on human embryonic stem-cell lines. Some, however, say the provisional rules are still too restrictive because they would … Read More
April 22, 2009
Over the ages, medicine has drawn to its ranks the best and the brightest, attracted by a career that brings together scientific knowledge, rigorously developed skills, and good judgment to help those in need. Whether it’s breaking an asthma attack, … Read More
