November 1, 2017
(Nature) – The first controlled, but controversial and small, clinical trial of giving young blood to people with dementia has reported that the procedure appears safe. It has also hinted that it may even produce modest improvements in the daily … Read More
November 1, 2017
(Reuters) – Researchers used electronic health records to hunt down the source of a potentially deadly hospital-acquired infection at the University of California, San Francisco. The culprit: a CT scanner in the hospital’s emergency department, according to a new report … Read More
November 1, 2017
(MIT Technology Review) – IVF clinics already test the DNA of embryos to spot rare diseases, like cystic fibrosis, caused by defects in a single gene. But these “preimplantation” tests are poised for a dramatic leap forward as it becomes … Read More
November 1, 2017
(Nature) – The long-running battle over US patents for CRISPR–Cas9 gene editing continues. On 25 October, the Broad Institute of Cambridge, Massachusetts, filed a fresh set of arguments with the US government to defend a key patent. That action helps … Read More
November 1, 2017
(Nature) – After years of studying advanced cancers, researchers are now training their DNA sequencers on precancerous growths to learn more about how they develop into the full-blown disease. A three-year pilot project funded this month by the US National … Read More
November 1, 2017
(Huffington Post) – The belief that a brain that has died will not ever recover led to the “Brain Death” statutes which allowed for a legal declaration of death for a person who meets certain clinical and laboratory findings indicative … Read More
November 1, 2017
(PhysOrg) – Information shared on social media is being regularly used in research projects without users’ consent, a study suggests. Experts have called for tighter control of the practice, with fresh guidelines needed to ensure personal data is being used … Read More
November 1, 2017
(Science) – The program that keeps watch over the management of dangerous pathogens at research laboratories still isn’t up to snuff, according to a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). The Federal Select Agent Program, run jointly … Read More
October 31, 2017
(CBC) – The Canadian Paediatric Society is urging improved palliative care for children and youth as a key part of preparing for the possibility of legalizing medical assistance in dying for certain patients under age 18. “Medical assistance in dying … Read More
October 31, 2017
(CNN) – Two issues are the cause of a plethora of diseases and health conditions affecting people worldwide: smoking and obesity. And one local health committee in the UK has announced a controversial policy “to support patients whose health is … Read More
October 31, 2017
(Reuters) – The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) is closing most of its 37 cholera treatment centers in Yemen, saying the epidemic appears to have peaked. Some 884,368 suspected cholera cases have been recorded in the war-torn … Read More
October 31, 2017
(BBC) – British athletes were threatened with not being selected if they spoke out about classification concerns in Paralympic sports, MPs have been told. “It’s somewhere between bullying and control,” said 11-time Paralympic champion Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson. She was speaking … Read More
October 31, 2017
(Reuters) – Forty-six U.S. state attorneys general will seek to expand a lawsuit alleging price fixing of generic drugs to 18 companies and 15 medicines on Tuesday, including Novartis AG’s generic unit Sandoz and India-based Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, people … Read More
October 31, 2017
(U.S. News & World Report) – A leading group of U.S. pediatricians is encouraging parents to donate to public cord blood banks after the birth of their children. The past decade has seen an increase in the use of umbilical … Read More
October 31, 2017
(Medical Xpress) – Female medical interns are more likely to suffer from symptoms of depression than their male counterparts, and the conflict between work and family responsibilities is a factor in that gender difference about a third of the time. … Read More
October 31, 2017
(The Verge) – If this sounds like a PR stunt to you, well, you’re right: the Saudi kingdom was using this eye-grabbing headline to promote a tech summit, part of its nationwide policy to transform an oil-based economy into something … Read More
October 30, 2017
(The Conversation) – Palliative care teams are commonly involved with illnesses such as heart, lung or kidney disease, cancer or advanced dementia. Involving palliative care allows for better control of symptoms and an improved sense of quality of life. It … Read More
October 30, 2017
(The Guardian) – Earlier this year I went to an event in Austin, Texas, billed as a sneak preview of the evolution of our species. The #Bdyhax Conference, which took place in a downtown exhibition complex, promised a front-row insight … Read More
October 30, 2017
(Washington Post) – The kingdom of Saudi Arabia officially granted citizenship to the humanoid robot last week during a program at the Future Investment Initiative, a summit that links deep-pocketed Saudis with inventors hoping to shape the future. Sophia’s recognition … Read More
October 30, 2017
(Chemistry World) – The therapeutic potential of the Crispr/Cas genome editing tool continues to grow, as US scientists have developed a version of the system that targets RNA and chemically alters its nucleotides. As RNA is ultimately translated to make … Read More
October 30, 2017
(The Yomiuri Shimbun) – The Organ Transplant Law prohibits organ trafficking, and people who travel overseas for transplants are viewed with a harsh eye around the world. All countries face an insufficient number of donors compared to the number of … Read More
October 30, 2017
(Quartz) – Imagine you’re lying in a hospital bed during the last moment of your life and your friends and family can’t be with you. Would a robot do? Not a fancy, Ferrari style one, but a simple machine that … Read More
October 30, 2017
(Medscape) – Genetic technologies are rapidly reshaping medical practice. In 2016, more than 48,000 genetic tests were ordered, many with the primary goal of confirming a clinical diagnosis and guiding medical decision-making.[1] The explosion of genomic diagnostics is allowing more … Read More
October 30, 2017
(First Things) – When first invented, in vitro fertilization (IVF) was sold as a medical remedy to be limited to married couples who could not otherwise conceive. That moralistic restriction is long gone. Today, access to IVF has few limitations—and … Read More
October 30, 2017
Metaphilosophy (vol. 48, no. 4, 2017) is available online by subscription only. Articles include: “Ethical Pragmatism” by Raff Donelson “The Philosophical Use and Misuse of Science” by Justine Kingsbury and Tim Dare “On the Structure of Bioethics as a Pragmatic Discipline” … Read More
