Blink once to live, twice to die
Making the choice between life and death Here is a startling case from the UK. A severely brain-damaged 43-year-old father of two, Richard Rudd,...
Some doctors tweet, join Facebook; others wary
Medicine and social media: do they mix?While doctors are divided over whether medical practices should be active on social media networks, Dr Jeff Livingston says...
Adult stem cell method tested in Parkinson’s study
First test using IPS cellsThe UK’s first major study of a disease using stem cells that do not require the creation and destruction of embryos...
UK foetal pain research is “politically timed and motivated”
Impartiality of scientific organisations thrown into question Debate over the issue of foetal pain continues, as research by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists...
A natural born killer
What makes one? This sounds like a good plot for a spooky Twilight Zone episode – or an argument for scepticism about neuroscience determinism. A...
Britain tops end-of-life care index
Summarises experience of 40 countries End-of-life care is one of the key areas of contemporary bioethics. The Economist has just published a 40-page survey...
Room for improvement in end-of-life care, study finds
Doctors “good about ordering comfort care, but not about follow-up”Even top-flight hospitals like UCLA Medical Center can improve the way they manage dying patients, according...
Will the Philippines open an organ market?
New health secretary makes moves. The Philippines Health Secretary appointed by the new president, Benigno Aquino III, is a strong supporter of allowing Filipinos to...
A libertarian looks at stem cells
Radical theories of Murray Rothbard applied to stem cell debate This falls in the category of bioethical fantasy rather than bioethical argument, but it was...
The Kids Are All Right
Summer hit about anonymous sperm donors Lesbian couples and anonymous sperm donors seem to be going mainstream. Attracting rave reviews is “The Kids are...