Primate embryos cloned for first time
Scientists in the US have successfully cloned a primate for the first time -- a rhesus macaque monkey. The news was immediately hailed as confirmation...
Lobsters can say Ouch!
Boiling live lobsters is an increasingly controversial practice, notwithstanding its epicurean outcome. The chef's argument is that crustaceans feel no pain; animal welfare activists insist...
Genetic knowledge could lead to new racism
Many observers worry that growing public trust in genetics could lead to fresh outbreaks of racism, says the New York Times. In the wake of...
Are humans hard-wired for optimism?
Meanwhile, on the neuroscience front, more qualities have been mapped out in the brain.OPTIMISM: scientists at New York University have found that our brains tend...
Pharmacists can refer Plan B, says Washington judge
The battleground of primacy of conscience has shifted to Washington state this week. A federal judge there has suspended the state's requirement that pharmacists sell...
Chinese spinal therapies
A leading US spinal injuries surgeon is setting up a research network in China, despite its abysmal ethical standards, to take advantage of the 60,000...
China shifts on prisoner organ harvesting
Uneasy with their reputation for using organs from executed prisoners, the Chinese Medical Association has formally repudiated the practice. According to the BMJ, at the...
Is informed consent possible on the battlefield?
Bioethics is never far from the war in Iraq. This time, the centre of controversy is Colonel John Holcomb, the head of the US Army's...
Scientists need humility, says Harvard prof
In an essay in the leading journal Nature, a Harvard professor of science and technology has called upon scientists to be more humble. In the...
“Every month holds a miracle” — and cash
Although umbilical cord blood is a rich source of stem cells, debate rages over whether parents who store it in commercial stem cell banks are...
MIT stem cell scientist urges closer ties with Iran
Renowned MIT stem cell scientist Rudi Jaenisch believes that more scientific cooperation could lead to more understanding and less fanaticism and intolerance in the relationship...
Chinese neurosurgeons cash in on mental illness
Chinese neurosurgeons are treating mental illness with brain surgery, a practice which has practically disappeared in the West. According to the Wall Street Journal, doctors...