bioethics.com

Darpa Implants Could Track Your Stress Level 24/7

Bioethics Pundit — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:37:02 +0000

Plenty of geeks are already obsessed with self-tracking, from monitoring sleep rhythms to graphing caffeine intake versus productivity. Now, the Department of Defense’s far-out research agency is after the ultimate kind of Quantified Self: Soldiers with implanted body sensors that keep intimate tabs on their health, around the clock. (Wired)

Norway to bring cancer-gene tests to the clinic

Bioethics Pundit — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:35:31 +0000

Norway is set to become the first country to incorporate genome sequencing into its national health-care system. The Scandinavian nation, which has a population of 4.8 million, will use ‘next-generation’ DNA sequencers to trawl for mutations in tumours that might reveal which cancer treatments would be most effective. (Nature News)

White House, religious groups in fight over doctrine, religious freedom and contraception

Bioethics Pundit — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:26:13 +0000

The Obama administration’s decision requiring church-affiliated employers to cover birth control was bound to cause an uproar among Roman Catholics and members of other faiths, no matter their beliefs on contraception. (Washington Post)

Malaria Deaths Twice As High As Previously Reported

Bioethics Pundit — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:21:50 +0000

Malaria kills 1.2 million people each year, more than twice as many deaths as previously thought, according to new research published in the Lancet. (ABC News)

Maine Girl Bouncing Back After 6-Organ Transplant

Bioethics Pundit — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:19:58 +0000

A 9-year-old Maine girl is home from a Boston hospital healthy, active and with high hopes — and a new stomach, liver, spleen, small intestine, pancreas, and part of an esophagus to replace the ones that were being choked by a huge tumor. (ABC News)

Federal judge considers whether Wash. can require pharmacies to sell emergency contraceptives

Bioethics Pundit — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:53:49 +0000

A federal judge is considering whether Washington state can require pharmacies to stock and sell Plan B or other emergency contraceptives, even in the face of religious objections by druggists who believe they destroy human life. (Washington Post)

Sugar tax needed, say US experts

Bioethics Pundit — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:50:57 +0000

Sugar is as damaging and addictive as alcohol or tobacco and should be regulated, claim US health experts. (BBC News)

Abortion curb restores birth sex ratio in Taiwan

Bioethics Pundit — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:45:36 +0000

Taiwanese health authorities said Tuesday that tougher checks on illegal gender-selective abortions prevented nearly 1,000 terminations of female foetuses last year. (AFP)

Stem Cell Therapy Shows Promise for Stroke, Studies Say

Bioethics Pundit — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:44:26 +0000

Treating stroke patients with stem cells taken from their own bone marrow appears to safely help them regain some of their lost abilities, two small new studies suggest. (US News and World Report)

Kidney transplant refused to Calif. father in U.S. illegally

Bioethics Pundit — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:42:50 +0000

Because a 35-year-old father is not in the country legally, a San Francisco hospital is refusing to perform a life-saving kidney transplant, the Contra Costa Times reports in an article highlighting a clash between immigration law and medical ethics. (USA Today)

Assisted suicide should be illegal throughout Europe, human rights body rules

Bioethics Pundit — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:29:17 +0000

In a declaration that will have legal implications in its 47 member states, the Strasbourg-based organisation announced that such practices “must always be prohibited”. (Telegraph)

Cancer Drugs Affect Mouse Genomes for Generations

Bioethics Pundit — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:53:23 +0000

Three common chemotherapy drugs cause DNA mutations not only in mice that receive treatment, but also in their offspring, according to a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. (Scientific American)

Concussion Is a Serious Problem for Child Athletes

Bioethics Pundit — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:52:15 +0000

The dangers of life in the National Football League made headlines in 2009, when a study commissioned by the NFL found that retired players were 19 times more likely than other men of similar ages to develop severe memory problems. (Scientific American)

States ask Supreme Court to stop Medicaid expansion

Bioethics Pundit — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:50:13 +0000

Florida and 25 other states officially have requested the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn what they call the unconstitutional expansion of the Medicaid program as part of the national health system reform law. (American Medical News)

Doctor can be sued for emotional distress despite lack of physical negligence

Bioethics Pundit — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:48:05 +0000

A physician can be sued for allegedly causing a patient emotional distress, even when no physical impact led to the distress, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has ruled. (American Medical News)