December 11, 2012
A good death: The role of local government at the end of life
Six in 10 councils know that their current arrangements for end of life will not be sufficient to meet future demand. (The Guardian )
Monthly Archives: December 2012
December 11, 2012
Girl’s gene therapy side effects help eradicate cancer
On the verge of dying from leukemia, a 7-year-old girl has been cured by personalized gene therapy, Philly.com reported. The University of Pennsylvania genetically altered Emily Whitehead’s own T-cells to eradicate the cancer, but the process had its own side … Read More
December 11, 2012
Fertility decline surprises women over 40, study finds
Nearly half of women who became pregnant through in vitro fertilization (IVF) after age 40 say they were “shocked” to discover they needed fertility treatments, a new study finds. (Huffington Post)
December 11, 2012
8 incredible nanotechnologies that actually exist today
In the real world, materials scientists, physicists, and biology researchers are working at the nanoscale to build everything from stretchy circuit boards and self-healing plastic to super condoms and cancer medicines. Here are eight innovations that actually exist at nanoscale, … Read More
December 11, 2012
Supreme Court of Canada mulls end-of-life decision process
The emotionally charged question about whether a doctor should have the authority to order life-support tubes pulled from a minimally conscious patient without the consent of the patient’s family was the subject of a Supreme Court of Canada hearing Monday. … Read More
December 11, 2012
Everybody’s DNA could be on genetic map in ‘very near future’
Personalised medicine for all could be a possibility in the “very near future” as everybody will soon be able to have their entire DNA make-up mapped for as little as £100, a leading professor said. (The Telegraph)
December 11, 2012
Diary of becoming an NHS-funded cyborg
The human brain has an evolutionary mandate to adapt to its surroundings. It constantly rewires itself every day in response to the sensory input it receives. Our brain shapes the way we view the world, and the world shapes our … Read More
December 10, 2012
Euthanasia ‘trivialized’ in Belgium: report by bioethics institute
Belgium legalised euthanasia in 2002, with a law containing strict controls to protect the vulnerable. The Belgium-based European Institute of Bioethics has just released a study of the experience of ten years of euthanasia. It claims that the results are … Read More
December 10, 2012
62 percent of U.S. women use contraception
Sixty-two percent of U.S. women of reproductive age used contraception, mostly birth control and sterilization, during 2006-2010, officials say. (UPI)
December 10, 2012
Gene therapy as a new option for bone defects
Gene therapy involving modified stem cells obtained from fatty tissue and bone marrow could represent a new option for the treatment of severe orthopaedic injuries to the extremities. (Science Daily)
December 10, 2012
IVF children morely likely to have asthma
Asthma is more common among children born after IVF and other treatments than among children who have been planned and conceived naturally, suggests a study led by Oxford University researchers. (Oxford University)
December 10, 2012
Death expenses at bay area hospitals make some reevaluate the cost of dying
America’s varied landscape of end-of-life experiences reflects different philosophies in how aggressively hospitals combat death, concludes Dartmouth’s 2011 analysis. While some hospitals marshal doctors and devices to postpone death even when death is clearly certain, others favor care options that … Read More
December 10, 2012
Call to reform surrogacy laws
Australia should legalise commercial surrogacy to stop the exploitation of poor women and protect the legal status of children caught up in the booming overseas surrogacy trade, according to the Chief Federal Court Magistrate. (Sydney Morning Herald)
December 10, 2012
Doctors and women’s groups urge feds to relax Plan B restrictions
Dozens of medical, women’s health and reproductive health groups marked the first anniversary of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ decision to maintain age restrictions on the sale of the morning-after birth control pill without a prescription by urging … Read More
December 7, 2012
European stem cell bank aims to speed up drug development
Ten international drug companies are to team up with scientists from 11 European countries to create a bank of stem cells for a project aimed at speeding up the development of new medicines. (Fox News)
December 7, 2012
Personhood: Casuality of modern medicine
Even as we marvel at the latest advances in medical technology in this country, a dire and unacceptable consequence of these changes is already in plain sight — the loss of the patient as person in the process of our … Read More
December 7, 2012
Survivor of Nazi ‘twin experiments’ talks to doctors about human subject research
Eva Kor will never forget the day her childhood ended. The images of that day, and the weeks after, are burned into her memory, as brutally permanent as the tattoo on her left forearm. (Science Daily)
December 7, 2012
Abortion mandate costs Planned Parenthood a few affiliates
A Planned Parenthood affiliate in New York is leaving the organization rather than comply with a policy that all affiliates must offer on-site abortions, fueling hopes among anti-abortion activists of a split within the abortion-rights movement. But the move is … Read More
December 7, 2012
Fertility clinic’s ad regulation falls short, report says
Smiling babies. Confusing statistics. Talk of miracles. There is too little oversight of how fertility clinics market themselves online, a new report charges, possibly misleading women about their chances of getting pregnant. (Huffington Post)
December 7, 2012
Stem cell pioneer sues Nobel assembly in U.S.
A pioneer of stem cell research is suing the assembly that awards the Nobel medicine prize, in a first such lawsuit, over claims it made about this year’s winners, a spokeswoman said Thursday. (Phys.org)
December 7, 2012
Report says California’s taxpayer-funded stem cell agency needs a reorganization
California has transformed into a powerhouse player in stem cell research, but the taxpayer-funded institute responsible for that needs an overhaul, a report released Thursday found. (Washington Post)
December 7, 2012
The decadence of procreation
It’s no longer news that babies have become a status symbol. We’ve gotten used to judging celebs’ bumps and observed the rise of the baby-centric fashion statement. The excitement this week over Kate Middleton’s royal fetus — and the medical … Read More
December 6, 2012
Turning vaccine refusals into teachable moments
More and more parents who object to vaccination aren’t getting their children immunized, leading to outbreaks of measles, whooping cough and other diseases. Some states have responded by making it much harder for parents to get exemptions from required vaccinations … Read More
December 6, 2012
Cyborg anthropologist: We can all be superhuman
Cyborg anthropology is the study of the interaction between humans and technology, and how technology affects culture. Mobile technology allows one to stand almost anywhere in the world, whisper something, and be heard elsewhere. These devices that live in our … Read More
December 6, 2012
Nanotechnology drug delivery shows promise for treatment of pediatric cancer
Studies conducted by the lead author A. K. Rajasekaran, PhD, and his team at Nemours in collaboration with Xinqiao Jia, PhD, and her team at the University of Delaware, used polymeric nanoparticles containing chemotherapeutic agents to ensure controlled delivery of … Read More
