December 13, 2011
The tantalizing prospect of using a brain scanner to determine whether a witness is lying, or a genetic analysis to determine whether a murder suspect is predisposed to commit violent crimes, are premature and unrealistic, according to a new report … Read More
December 13, 2011
More than 100 people have died in the past six years as a result of problematic alarms on ventilators, which are designed to beep warnings to caregivers when something goes wrong with the machine or the patient’s breathing. (ABC News)
December 13, 2011
Twenty years ago, I helped save a man’s life. I met him in the emergency room of the hospital, just a year after I finished medical school. (New York Times)
December 13, 2011
One is a healthy first-grader, the other an honors college student majoring in psychology. Once the tiniest babies ever born, both girls are thriving, despite long odds when they entered the world weighing less than a pound. (Washington Post)
December 13, 2011
Earlier this semester, college senior Leah Nelson emailed one of her instructors to ask for extra time to complete a paper. “I have been going through a rough patch lately and am making the decision to take care of myself … Read More
December 12, 2011
When David Evans needed a hernia operation, the 69-year-old farmer became so alarmed by the long wait that he used an ultrasound machine for pregnant sheep on himself, to make sure he wasn’t getting worse. (Washington Post)
December 12, 2011
A new study shows that survivors of hematopoietic cell transplants (HCT, which is essentially a stem cell transplant) have a higher risk of developing psychological and chronic health conditions when compared to their siblings. (Fox News)
December 12, 2011
In what’s being called a landmark study, researchers used gene therapy to successfully treat six patients with severe hemophilia, a blood-clotting disorder. (Washington Post)
December 12, 2011
Scientists have for the first time created blood platelet cells by reprogramming stem cells derived from adult cells, offering the potential for a renewable supply of the fragile blood component. (Reuters)
December 12, 2011
Imagine computer-designed viruses that cure disease, new bacteria capable of synthesizing an unlimited fuel supply, new organisms that wipe out entire populations and bio-toxins that target world leaders. (Washington Post)
December 12, 2011
Plans to introduce mobile medical teams that can euthanize people in their own homes are being considered by the Dutch government. (Telegraph)
December 9, 2011
Research on the safety of delaying childhood immunizations is needed as pediatricians increasingly are faced with requests by parents to follow alternative vaccine schedules, says the author of a new study. (American Medical News)
December 9, 2011
Hospitals have been ordered to improve the way they record their decisions on whether or not to resuscitate patients amid fresh evidence of a failure to create a proper dialogue about those decisions with patients and relatives. (Guardian)
December 9, 2011
In the struggle against widespread obesity that begins in early childhood, new research indicates that schools may be the best place to start a solution. (Scientific American)
December 9, 2011
It’s a rare kind of research that incites a frenzied panic before it’s even published. But it’s flu season, and influenza science has a way of causing a stir this time of year. (Scientific American)
December 9, 2011
It took several weeks to gather its thoughts. But the powerful Alliance of German Scientific Organizations has now publicly criticized an 18 October ruling from the European Court of Justice that bans patenting of inventions involving human embryonic stem (ES) … Read More
December 9, 2011
Abortion does not raise the risk of a woman suffering mental health problems, a major review by experts concludes. (BBC News)
December 8, 2011
Journal of Medical Ethics (Volume 37, Issue 12, December 2011) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “Obstetrician-gynaecologists’ opinions about conscientious refusal of a request for abortion: results from a national vignette experiment” by Kenneth A Rasinski, John D … Read More
December 8, 2011
As cutbacks continue to bite at home, wealthy nations are reducing the sums they allocate to research on diseases that predominantly affect developing nations. (Nature News)
December 8, 2011
A process to “carve” highly complicated shapes into nanoparticles has been unveiled by a team of researchers. (BBC News)
December 8, 2011
With researchers looking more and more for ways to tailor drugs and tests to each patient’s needs, the Supreme Court on Wednesday considered how far companies can go to protect their profits in the burgeoning “personal medicine” field. (AP)
December 8, 2011
The “patent cliff” has begun. Dreaded by leading pharmaceutical companies of the West for years now, it could potentially make millions of dollars of profits for Indian companies. (BBC News)
December 8, 2011
The secretary of Health and Human Services overruled Wednesday a Food and Drug Administration recommendation that would have made the emergency contraceptive pill Plan B One-Step available over the counter to girls younger than 17. (CNN)
December 7, 2011
Developing World Bioethics (Volume 11, Issue 3, December 2011) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “HIV Testing of Pregnant Women: An Ethical Analysis” by Kjell Arne Johansson, Kirsten Bjerkreim Pedersen, and Anna-Karin Anderson, 109-119. “Ethics of Human Genetic … Read More
December 7, 2011
For decades, scientists have been working to develop medical therapies from the body’s own stem cells. Promising new treatments are finally moving through clinical trials in conditions ranging from heart disease and inflammation to eye diseases and diabetes. (Fox News)
