July 31, 2009
The UK’s National Health Service wants to prepare its physicians for the changes that personalized and genomic medicine will bring to the healthcare field and has invested £4.5 million ($7.4 million) in a new pilot program to begin that process. … Read More
July 31, 2009
IT is a rare treat when parting with money for a mainstream movie buys real food for thought. But Hollywood hoopla and high-profile castings hide the kernel of real, human issues in My Sister’s Keeper. The movie, which opened in … Read More
July 31, 2009
Since it now appears that there aren’t enough votes in Congress to pass Single Payer, President Barack Obama’s public health insurance option offers the best current chance for the U.S. to become the last industrialized country to achieve universal health … Read More
July 31, 2009
In late June, the Rochester, Minn.-based hospital system Mayo Clinic tried something it had never attempted before. Using the micro-blogging service Twitter, it announced the imminent release of a study on Celiac disease, an immune system response to gluten. Then … Read More
July 31, 2009
A review of the practical, legal, ethical and educational implications for nurses of any legislative changes that would allow physician-assisted suicide. (Nursing Times)
July 31, 2009
Concerns are being raised by a growing number of British academics that bureaucratic overload is stifling their ability to undertake clinical research, compromising the future of this activity in the UK, and ultimately doing patients a disservice. The issues are … Read More
July 31, 2009
Alta Charo, a professor of law and bioethics, is taking a leave from the University of Wisconsin-Madison to become a senior advisor in the Office of the Commissioner at the Food & Drug Administration, which is part of the U.S. … Read More
July 31, 2009
University of Florida researchers were able to program bone marrow stem cells to repair damaged retinas in mice, suggesting a potential treatment for one of the most common causes of vision loss in older people. (University of Florida News)
July 30, 2009
Researchers who are paid to enrol patients in studies with a not-so-favourable risk–benefit ratio, pharmaceutical companies holding back with data that give rise to concern about patient safety, institutions that provide advanced clinical care to underinsured patients only if they … Read More
July 30, 2009
House action on the health-care bill resumed Thursday, with Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman warning lawmakers against offering amendments that make the legislation more expensive. (Wall Street Journal)
July 30, 2009
Cisco and UnitedHealth Group are spending tens of millions on an initiative that they hope will make virtual house calls — they call it “Connected Care†— a big part of the future of medical care. The pitch: It pares … Read More
July 30, 2009
People in the U.S. spent $33.9 billion last year on alternative health goods and services, ranging from antioxidant supplements to yoga, according to a new study released today by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). About 38 percent of adults … Read More
July 30, 2009
Nanoethics. Neuroethics. Synbioethics. How many bioethics subfields do we really need to grapple with the issues at the cutting edge of contemporary science? Maybe just one, suggest the authors of a recent report from the Hastings Center and the Woodrow … Read More
July 30, 2009
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July 30, 2009
A paper reporting the creation of sperm-like cells from human embryonic stem cells has been retracted by the editor of the journal Stem Cells and Development. The work had garnered headlines worldwide after being published three weeks ago (see ‘Sperm-like … Read More
July 30, 2009
It’s a critical week in Congress on the health care reform front, and members are ramping up the rhetoric for one of the sticking points — a government-run health insurance plan that would “compete” with private insurers. (News-Medical)
July 30, 2009
Pregnant women, parents and caretakers of young children, all healthcare workers, people between the ages of 6 months and 24 years, and non-elderly adults with underlying medical conditions should be first in line to get the pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccine … Read More
July 30, 2009
A look-the-other-way attitude at some U.S. hospitals may be fostering a black-market trade in kidneys, transplant experts say. Some hospitals do not inquire very deeply into the source of the organs they transplant because such operations can be highly lucrative, … Read More
July 30, 2009
The International Society for Stem Cell Research said in a report released in December that it was “very concerned” that stem cell therapies are being sold around the world before they have been proven safe and effective. The group of … Read More
July 30, 2009
Using the process, which grafts pieces of synthetic DNA into the genomes of dividing cells, researchers generated 15 billion different genomic patterns in just three days. The process would normally take years, and could eventually be used to produce industrial … Read More
July 30, 2009
Tiny synthetic particles carrying a payload of toxin worked as well as chemotherapy at killing ovarian cancer cells in mice, without the bad side effects, U.S. researchers said on Thursday. (Reuters)
July 30, 2009
The GMC has launched a series of challenging online tutorials that tackle tricky ethical scenarios. The tutorials which include child protection, whistleblowing and addiction will be added to the case load already featured on GMP in Action, the GMC’s interactive … Read More
July 30, 2009
A bill to legalise assisted suicide in Scotland is expected to be brought before the Scottish parliament this autumn after the independent MSP Margo MacDonald won cross-party backing. People with a progressive and irreversible illness, the terminally ill, or those … Read More
July 30, 2009
In February the Court of Appeal rejected her bid for clarification, ruling that she was not entitled to the guidance she was seeking. But the Law Lords disagreed, calling on the director of public prosecutions to clarify the law. (AFP)
July 30, 2009
A research team comprised of faculty at Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s (WPI) Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center (LSBC) and investigators at CellThera, a private company also located at the LSBC, has discovered a novel way to turn on stem cell genes … Read More
