June 25, 2012
Lab-Grown ‘Custom’ Organs May Be Future of Medicine
What if dying patients waiting for an organ transplant could receive a custom, lab-grown replacement rather than waiting for a donor organ? (ABC News)
Monthly Archives: June 2012
June 25, 2012
FDA questions what’s creeping into your food, sunscreen
Chemicals, minerals, and other materials 40,000 times smaller than a human hair are being added to an astonishingly high number of consumer products, from peanut butter to socks to sunscreen. And in an unusual departure from its usual innocent-until-proven-guilty approach … Read More
June 25, 2012
New Issue of Cell Stem Cell is Now Available
Cell Stem Cell (Volume 10, Issue 6, June 2012) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: “The Impact of Cell Culture on Stem Cell Research” by Elaine Fuchs. “Synthetic Organs for Regenerative Medicine” by Roger A. Pedersen, Victoria Mascetti, … Read More
June 22, 2012
Tumour op in womb saves foetus
Surgeons have removed a tumour from the mouth of a foetus, in what has been described as a “world first” procedure. (BBC News)
June 22, 2012
Woman seeking elective amputation takes next step
A woman who wants to swap her right hand for a bionic prosthetic will undergo exploratory surgery in September to determine if the amputation can go ahead. (BBC News)
June 22, 2012
Rudimentary liver grown in vitro
Japanese scientists have used induced stem cells to create a liver-like tissue in a dish. (Nature News)
June 21, 2012
No Money for Forced Sterilization Victims in NC
The first serious proposal to compensate victims of forced sterilization failed Wednesday when North Carolina legislators said they were not approving any money for them. One ardent supporter declared: “At this point, I have lost all hope.” (ABC News)
June 21, 2012
Merck Panned for ‘Madagascar 3’ Children’s Claritin Campaign
The drug company Merck is in hot water for using cartoon characters and stickers to market grape-flavored children’s allergy medicine. (ABC News)
June 21, 2012
Those Already Ill Have High Stake in Health Ruling
The tumor grew like a thick vine up the back of Eric Richter’s leg, reminding him every time he sat down that he was a man without insurance. In April, when it was close to bursting through his skin, he … Read More
June 21, 2012
Bird Flu Research That Stoked Fears Is Published
The more controversial of two papers describing how the lethal H5N1 bird flu could be made easier to spread was published on Thursday, six months after a scientific advisory board suggested that the papers’ most pot entially dangerous data be … Read More
June 21, 2012
Informed consent: A broken contract
Late in May, the direct-to-consumer gene-testing company 23andMe proudly announced the impending award of its first patent. The firm’s research on Parkinson’s disease, which used data from several thousand customers, had led to a patent on gene sequences that contribute … Read More
June 20, 2012
Catholic group seeks change in US birth control policy
The biggest U.S. network of nonprofit health facilities formally asked the Obama administration on Friday not to require Roman Catholic-affiliated institutions including hospitals to provide employees with health coverage for contraceptives. (Reuters)
June 20, 2012
Stroke Treatment Using Stem Cells Shows Early Promise In Controversial Trial
A controversial stem cell treatment for stroke is showing promising signs in the early results of a small safety trial. (Medical News Today)
June 20, 2012
Canada court says laws banning assisted suicide are unconstitutional
A British Columbia judge ruled Thursday that Canadian laws banning doctor-assisted suicide are unconstitutional because they discriminate against severely ill patients. (NY Times)
June 20, 2012
American Medical Association supports requiring obesity education for all public school kids
The American Medical Association on Wednesday put its weight behind requiring yearly instruction aimed at preventing obesity for public schoolchildren and teens. (Washington Post)
June 19, 2012
Fast Access to Records Helps Fight Epidemics
Public health departments around the country have long scrutinized data from local hospitals for indications that diseases like influenza, tuberculosis, AIDS, syphilis and asthma might be on the rise, and to monitor the health consequences of heat waves, frigid weather … Read More
June 19, 2012
Landmark assisted suicide case raises ‘arguable grounds for appeal’
Gloria Taylor is the only person in Canada who can legally seek physician-assisted suicide, but a lawyer who was involved in the landmark court case says he expects other terminally ill people to apply for the same exemption. (The Globe … Read More
June 19, 2012
A Baby Contest: Couples Compete for Free IVF. Is This Exploitation or Generosity?
There are 2 million married couples struggling with infertility in the U.S. On Thursday, three of them won a shot at a free baby. (TIME)
June 19, 2012
Health care overhaul’s plan to expand coverage leaves millions behind
One of the biggest misconceptions about President Obama’s health care overhaul isn’t who the law will cover, but rather who it won’t. (Washington Post)
June 19, 2012
Britain aims for broad open access
For years, countries have been edging towards open access for research, with some funding agencies requiring that researchers make their papers publicly available within a set period after publication. (Nature News)
June 19, 2012
Stem Cells Move Into Prime Time
For more than a decade, stem cell therapies have been touted as offering hope for those suffering from genetic and degenerative diseases. The promise took another step toward reality last week with announcements here at the annual meeting of the … Read More
June 18, 2012
Waiting for our son to wake up
As he lies in bed, Ryan Buchanan’s eyes flutter open. He gazes into his room but fixates on nothing. A stuffed toy lies motionless in his left hand. (CNN)
June 18, 2012
Mapping Your End-of-Life Choices
Robert H. Laws, a retired judge in San Francisco, and his wife, Beatrice, knew it was important to have health care directives in place to help their doctors and their two sons make wise medical decisions should they ever be … Read More
June 18, 2012
Top court rejects DNA lab test analyst questioning
The Supreme Court on Monday made it easier for prosecutors to use expert testimony about DNA laboratory reports at trial without allowing defendants to confront and question the forensic analysts involved in the tests. (Reuters)
June 18, 2012
Do Brain Scans of Comatose Patients Reveal a Conscious State?
Adrian Owen still gets animated when he talks about patient 23. The patient was only 24 years old when his life was devastated by a car accident. (Scientific American)
