February 18, 2013
Why death is not the end of your social media life
Services such as LivesOn and DeadSocial plan to keep your friends and family updated on your Twitter and Facebook pages, even after you have passed away. (The Guardian )
Monthly Archives: February 2013
February 18, 2013
Not your conventional nucleic acids: Spherical nucleic acids have novel properties that are perfect for biomedical applications
Potential applications include using SNAs [spherical nucleic acids] to carry nucleic acid-based therapeutics to the brain for the treatment of glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer, as well as other neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. … Read More
February 18, 2013
More IVF for gay couples and over-40s on the NHS
More gay couples and women over the age of 40 are to be given fertility treatment on the NHS, despite claims that the health service cannot afford it. (The Telegraph )
February 18, 2013
Discount IVF just as good as top clinics
A new study of IVF costs and success rates claims the amount of money the average couple spent on treatments had nothing to do with their chances of falling pregnant. (Herald Sun )
February 18, 2013
Genetics not a factor in three-quarters of breast cancer cases
FAMILY history plays no role in breast cancer in three out of four women, a shocking new Victorian survey has revealed. (news.com.au )
February 18, 2013
A genetic code for genius?
In China, a research project aims to find the roots of intelligence in our DNA; searching for the supersmart. (Wall Street Journal )
February 18, 2013
Health reform hands states surprising weapon against abortion
Abortion opponents are making use of a new way to restrict access to abortion – by using the authority states have over the new health insurance exchanges, which will be up and running in a year. (NBC News )
February 18, 2013
Frozen embryo outcomes mixed
Frozen embryos yielded better birth outcomes on some measures compared with fresh embryos in vitro fertilization, but there were some concerning signals of big babies and excess early mortality, a Nordic population-based study indicated. (Med Page Today )
February 18, 2013
Medical tourism: Traveling for plastic surgery
A Boston surgeon tells us why traveling for plastic surgery may not be the best idea. (Boston Magazine )
February 18, 2013
Why people are angry about India’s new surrogacy rules
A new government regulation has left 28-year-old Sunita Devi worried about the future of the baby she is carrying. Devi, who is already showing at five months, is a surrogate mother carrying the child of a single Canadian man. (Time … Read More
February 18, 2013
No increased cancer risk after IVF: Study
Women getting fertility treatments can be reassured that in vitro fertilization (IVF) does not increase their risk of breast and gynecological cancers, according to a new study of Israeli women. (NBC News )
February 15, 2013
France moves one step closer to legalising euthanasia
France’s medical ethics council moved a step closer to legalising euthanasia today by ruling that assisted suicide should exceptionally be allowed when ailing patients make “persistent, lucid and repeated requests” to end their life. (The Telegraph)
February 15, 2013
Discovery in HIV may solve efficiency problems for gene therapy
Led by professor Eric Arts, PhD, the scientists discovered that the process of gene therapy is missing essential elements thereby reducing the effectiveness of this treatment. Re-introducing this element into their model system suggests that improvements for gene therapy are … Read More
February 15, 2013
CDC: 1 in 9 women have used morning-after pill
The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics: good with numbers, a bit weird about Valentine’s Day. According to a federal report out today, 11 percent of women in the United States between the ages of 15 and 44 have used … Read More
February 15, 2013
U.S.-based investors lead world in nanotechnology patents: study
Inventors based in the United States led the world in nanotechnology patent applications and grants in 2012, according to a new study by law firm McDermott Will & Emery. (Reuters)
February 15, 2013
Device offers partial vision for the blind
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the first treatment to give limited vision to people who are blind, involving a technology called the artificial retina. (New York Times)
February 15, 2013
Myriad genetics wins bid to patent human genes
Myriad Genetics Inc. (MYGN), owner of patents for genes linked to cancer risks, won an Australian court ruling allowing it to patent isolated DNA, a first in the country, with the U.S. Supreme Court set to hear a similar case. … Read More
February 14, 2013
Protein central to cancer stem cell formation provides new potential target
Researchers have identified a pivotal protein in a cellular transformation that makes a cancer cell more resistant to treatment and more capable of growing and spreading, making it an inviting new target for drug development. (Science Daily)
February 14, 2013
Four years later, slain abortion doctor’s aide steps into the void
For nearly four years the site has been abandoned, a low-slung, windowless, beige building just off a highway on the east side of town. But the overpowering smell of fresh paint inside hints of activity soon to come. (New York … Read More
February 14, 2013
World’s first stem cell clinical trial one step closer to reality in Japan
Researchers in Japan are looking to use the recent discoveries of Nobel Prize winning Shinya Yamanaka to treat a degenerative eye disease in what would be the world’s first clinical trial of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). (Japan Daily … Read More
February 14, 2013
Parents hopeful after daughter’s brain stem cell transplant
Attacked and left for dead by a man she had allegedly dated, the 24-year-old suffered serious brain damage more than a year ago. (WFAA)
February 14, 2013
New biosensing nanotechnology adopts natural mechanisms to detect molecules
Since the beginning of time, living organisms have developed ingenious mechanisms to monitor their environment. As part of an international study, a team of researchers has adapted some of these natural mechanisms to detect specific molecules such as cocaine more … Read More
February 14, 2013
Boston public health leaders urge FDA to regulate sugar in soft drinks
The US Food and Drug Administration needs to regulate the amount of added sugars in soda and other sweetened beverages to reverse the obesity epidemic, urged a Washington, DC-based nutrition activist group in a petition signed by Harvard School of … Read More
February 14, 2013
Stem cells in Texas: Cowboy culture
By offering unproven therapies, a Texas biotechnology firm has sparked a bitter debate about how stem cells should be regulated. (Nature)
February 13, 2013
A New Issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association is Available
A new issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (Vol 309 No 6, February 13) is available digitally and in print. Articles of interest include: “Silencing the Science on Gun Research” by Arthur L. Kellermann, MD, MPH, Frederick … Read More
