December 15, 2010
Assembling the Global Baby
With an international network of surrogate mothers and egg and sperm donors, a new industry is emerging to produce children on the cheap and outside the reach of restrictive laws. (Wall Street Journal)
Monthly Archives: December 2010
December 15, 2010
New Issue of The American Journal of Bioethics is Now Available
The American Journal of Bioethics (Volume 10, Issue 4, December 2010) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Be Careful How You Help” by W. A. Drew Edmondson, 1 – 2. “Pain Treatment Agreements” by Will Rowe, 3 – … Read More
December 14, 2010
New Issue of Journal of Applied Philosophy is Now Available
Journal of Applied Philosophy (Volume 27, Issue 4, November 2010) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Licensing Parents Revisited” by Hugh LaFollette, 327–343. “Is Health (Really) Special? Health Policy between Rawlsian and Luck Egalitarian Justice” by Shlomi Segall, … Read More
December 14, 2010
Panel Set to Study Safety of Electronic Health Data
Almost two years ago, President Obama pledged $19 billion in stimulus incentives to help convert the nation’s doctors and hospitals to using a paperless system of electronic health records intended to improve the quality of care and reduce costs. But … Read More
December 14, 2010
Judge rejects key part of Obama health care law, rules insurance mandate unconstitutional
A federal judge declared the foundation of President Barack Obama’s health care law unconstitutional Monday, ruling that the government cannot require Americans to purchase insurance. The case is expected to end up at the Supreme Court. (Associated Press)
December 14, 2010
New palliative care funding system needed
With ageing populations and their associated chronic diseases, the demands for end-of-life care have risen sharply. However, palliative care is often poorly coordinated, even in the UK, which ranks top among 40 countries in a recent report by the Economist … Read More
December 14, 2010
Should we all contribute DNA for research?
As genetic scientists learn more about how inherited traits affect human health, ethical questions increasingly arise over the availability and ownership of the DNA samples needed for research. Because large quantities of genetic material are needed to continue on this … Read More
December 14, 2010
Baseball turns its attention to Adderall as analysis shows more players gaining exemptions for ADD
Major League Baseball banned amphetamines in 2006, but players still apparently feel the need for speed. Thirteen players tested positive for the amphetamine-based drug Adderall in the past season, and 105 were granted exemptions for attention deficit disorder, for which … Read More
December 13, 2010
Federal Judge to Rule on Health Law’s Constitutionality
A Virginia federal judge is expected to rule Monday on whether the Obama administration’s health law violates the Constitution, opening a new stage in the administration’s defense of its biggest legislative achievement. (Wall Street Journal)
December 13, 2010
German research centre widens misconduct probe
Rocked by revelations of long-running scientific misconduct in its immunology department, the Research Center Borstel in Germany is to broaden its investigation into the work of a pair of former scientists suspected of systematic image manipulation in a number of … Read More
December 13, 2010
New Zealand: Critics warn on pregnant mother alerts
Alerts are being placed on the health files of pregnant women whose unborn children are deemed at risk of abuse – a move critics say could stigmatise and wrongly label parents. (Stuff.co.nz)
December 13, 2010
Genetic tests could prevent those like me being born at all
Technology is, they say, morally neutral. But it can certainly create some very tough moral dilemmas. Take the new test, announced last week, that will enable doctors to determine whether a foetus has genetic disorders. It’s much safer than the … Read More
December 13, 2010
Organ Donation – Let the Market Rule?
New York City is starting a pilot program in which, for the next five months, an organ-recovery team will trail ambulances responding to 911 calls, ready to leap in if the patient dies and is a viable donor. It’s a … Read More
December 13, 2010
Animal-to-human transplant first
A world-first treatment for type 1 diabetes using insulin-producing cells grown in pigs has been approved for sale in Russia, and Australia is the “next big target country”. (Sunday Morning Herald)
December 13, 2010
Canada: Why is there no national vaccination strategy?
Vaccines are the single most important and cost-effective health intervention we have, especially for children. So, is there any reason a child in Saskatchewan should not get the same vaccines as a child in New Brunswick? Why the hepatitis B … Read More
December 13, 2010
New Issue of The New England Journal of Medicine is Now Available
The New England Journal of Medicine (Volume 363, Issue 21, November 18, 2010) is now available on-line and by subscription only. Articles include: “Up in the Air – Suspending Ethical Medical Practice” by D. Malcolm Shaner, available here. “Beyond Repeal … Read More
December 10, 2010
New Issue of Nature Reviews Genetics is Now Available
Nature Reviews Genetics (Volume 11, Issue 12, December 2010) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Genomics: A Picture worth 1000 Genomes” by Chris Gunter, 814.
December 10, 2010
Give up the ghosts
The spectral fingerprints of a big drug company have once again been found all over academic publications. Documents released last week by a watchdog group based in Washington DC raise concerns about the role of writers paid by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) … Read More
December 10, 2010
Embryonic stem cells: Testing science
ON DECEMBER 6th an appeals court in Washington, DC, heard the latest arguments in the case of Sherley v Sebelius, on the question of whether American federal funds can be used for research on human embryonic stem cells. The disburser … Read More
December 10, 2010
Reproductive Scientists Create Mice From 2 Fathers
Using stem cell technology, reproductive scientists in Texas, led by Dr. Richard R. Berhringer at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, have produced male and female mice from two fathers. (Medical News Today)
December 10, 2010
State sued over trading and selling of infant blood spots
A federal class action lawsuit filed today in San Antonio claims the state “deceptively and unlawfully sold, traded, bartered, and distributed blood samples†from newborns in exchange for fees, lab equipment and other purposes. (Statesman)
December 10, 2010
Scientists Still Pushing for Human Cloning Amid Media Blackout
While the subject of cloning has not been in the news lately, people should realize that there are some scientists who still want human clones, and politicians pushing for approval of human cloning for experiments. (LifeNews.com)
December 9, 2010
Review of Feminist Bioethics At the Center, On the Margins
The anthology, Feminist Bioethics, edited by Jackie Leach Scully, Laurel E. Baldwin-Ragaven, and Petya Fitzpatrick, examines how feminist bioethics theoretically and methodologically challenges dominant bioethics, and whether feminist ethical approaches are useful for exploring difference in other contexts. It offers … Read More
December 9, 2010
Islamic bioethics database taking shape
The Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar said yesterday that it had made significant progress in developing its Islamic Medical and Scientific Ethics database as an international information resource. (The Peninsula)
December 8, 2010
Older men get less effective prostate cancer care
Old age is no hindrance to benefiting from prostate cancer surgery and radiation therapy, according to a new U.S. study that shows men over 75 often get less effective treatment than their younger peers. (Reuters)
