July 10, 2023
(NBC News) – New Mexico health officials say new HIV infections have been linked to a salon that performed so-called vampire facials, almost five years after the business closed. The Albuquerque salon, called VIP Spa, was shut down in September … Read More
June 15, 2023
(UPI) – So-called “smart drugs” meant to enhance brain performance are more likely to leave users ineffectually spinning in place, a new study has found. These stimulants, typically used to treat ADHD, increased study participants’ motivation in solving problems. But … Read More
June 13, 2023
(New York Times) – A.I. is Silicon Valley’s ultimate new product rollout: transcendence on demand. But there’s a dark twist. It’s as if tech companies introduced self-driving cars with the caveat that they could blow up before you got to … Read More
June 12, 2023
(Wired) – GLP-1-mimicking drugs seem to be a powerful tool for weight loss: Some people lose 15 percent of their body weight or more after 68 weeks on semaglutide, which is approved in the US for weight loss as Wegovy … Read More
June 1, 2023
(MIT Technology Review) – Zuzalu, a pop-up city in Montenegro has provided a temporary home for people who plan to set up a new jurisdiction to encourage biohacking and fast-track drugs that slow or reverse aging.
May 30, 2023
(Wall Street Journal) – U.S. officials said they are contacting people who recently underwent cosmetic procedures at two clinics in Mexico tied to a suspected outbreak of fungal meningitis that has killed two and sickened dozens. All of the infected … Read More
May 26, 2023
(Wired) – Ever on the bleeding edge, Korean doctors have already been taking globalism into account. So Yeon Leem, a Korean biologist turned social scientist, says clinics are designing and constantly tweaking their computer algorithms for analyzing aesthetically appealing faces … Read More
May 19, 2023
(STAT News) – Late in 1997, about six months before the FDA approved Viagra, I got a call from the head of the Pfizer Viagra team asking whether I might be interested in doing a consultation for them. He explained … Read More
May 19, 2023
(MIT Technology Review) – The policy changes are a reminder of how fragile our digital lives are and just how little control we have over their preservation, says Tamara Kneese, author of the forthcoming book Death Glitch: How Techno-Solutionism Fails … Read More
May 18, 2023
(AP) — Britain’s fertility regulator on Wednesday confirmed the births of the U.K.’s first babies created using an experimental technique combining DNA from three people, an effort to prevent the children from inheriting rare genetic diseases. The Human Fertilization and … Read More
May 16, 2023
Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics (vol. 43, no. 2-3, 2022) is available online by subscription only. Articles include: “Global Justice in the Context of Transnational Surrogacy: An African Bioethical Perspective” by Ademola Kazeem Fayemi and Amara Esther Chimakonam “Towards a Systematic … Read More
May 2, 2023
(Wired) – The ovary is a time machine. It travels to the future, reaching old age ahead of the rest of the body. At birth, each ovary contains around a million follicles—tiny, fluid-filled sacs that hold immature eggs. But the … Read More
May 1, 2023
(Wall Street Journal) – A kidney transplant drug has become the latest fixation of people trying to fight aging. Some people looking to extend their lifespan have for years turned to a decades-old diabetes drug, metformin. Now, rapamycin, an immunosuppressant … Read More
April 29, 2023
(Wired) – For Robine, each supercentenarian is a crucial datapoint in the quest to answer a big question: Is there an upper limit to the human lifespan? “There are still many things we don’t know. And we hate that,” says … Read More
April 24, 2023
(NBC News) – Leg lengthening is an intense and expensive process but one that has become more popular and accepted in the last five years, according to Dr. Shahab Mahboubian, a surgeon at the Height Lengthening Institute in Burbank, California, … Read More
April 19, 2023
(Vox) – After neuroscientist Martha Bagnall read a recent New Yorker article about Ozempic — the “buzzy” “celebrity weight loss jab” that’s upending obesity medicine — she emailed a colleague to dish on what she felt were gaps in the … Read More
April 18, 2023
(Kaiser Family Foundation) – Competition to claim a market that could be worth $100 billion a year for drugmakers alone has triggered a wave of advertising that has provoked the concern of regulators and doctors worldwide. But their tools for … Read More
April 18, 2023
(Wall Street Journal) – Ozempic and other similar medications are doing more than helping people tighten belts and fit into old outfits. Many users are reporting bizarre, vivid and eerily realistic night visions that bear no resemblance to their past … Read More
April 17, 2023
(New York Times) – The company behind CoolSculpting has retained consultants who have written about low risks of P.A.H. in medical journals and online channels. It has also restricted patients from talking about the problem through confidentiality agreements and, at … Read More
April 13, 2023
(Wired) – Two recent debut novels have tapped into the Gothic side of beauty and wellness culture, prime examples of a new literary trend: Goopcore body horror. Both stories follow women enthralled by Svengali-like figures who encourage them to take … Read More
April 12, 2023
(MedPage Today) – In surgical circles, the Brazilian butt lift (BBL) is known as the deadliest aesthetic procedure ever performed, and despite several calls to improve outcomes, recent data suggest mortality is only getting worse — especially in South Florida. … Read More
April 4, 2023
(Wall Street Journal) – As a treatment for people with Type 2 diabetes, metformin is considered safe. Doctors say off-label use doesn’t appear to have big risks, although some research has indicated the drug may be associated with an increased … Read More
March 31, 2023
(STAT News) – The most immediate concern with regard to the end of the public health emergency centers on changes to telehealth practices that could impact trans men and others who may take testosterone. During the pandemic, telehealth providers were … Read More
March 27, 2023
(Associated Press) – United States Catholic bishops have issued guidelines that seek to stop Catholic hospitals from providing gender transition care, a move LGBTQ advocates say could harm the physical and emotional health of transgender people within the church. The … Read More
March 23, 2023
(The Atlantic) – In the thousands of years that tattoos have been around, not much has changed. The practice still involves carving wounds into permanent, inked-in shapes that we find aesthetically pleasing. But much of tattooing remains mysterious: Scientists still … Read More
