The resurrection of the “technically dead”
British woman resuscitated after life support removedLorna Baillie with daughter and husband The family of a 51-year-old British woman is suing the government for £5...
Assisted suicide is too dangerous in times of economic crisis, says disabled UK peer
Moves to legalise assisted suicide in Britain are a threat to the disabled during a time of economic hardship, says Baroness Campbell of Surbiton, a...
Doubts mount about new stem cell paper
The world’s leading science journal, Nature, may end up with egg on its face as complaints mount about a recent paper on a radical new...
Dissecting the Society for Mutual Autopsy
The Society of Mutual Autopsy was an organisation formed in the late 1800s to advance neuroscience by examining dead members’ brains and to promote atheism...
Suicide can be rational, says editor of Bioethics
For some people with depression suicide is a rational response to their suffering Brutus falls on his sword. As Quebec debates the legalisation of...
Genetic predisposition as a legal defence
What is the relationship between genetic predisposition and upbringing? With the rapid advance of behavioural genetics it has become easier for lawyers to mount a...
Conflicted over slippery slopes
Hi there, I suspect that people who use the expressing “I’m feeling conflicted” are mostly American, so I avoid it. However, when discussing slippery slopes,...
Stop fretting about 3-parent embryos and get ready for “multiplex parenting”
With artificial gametes, the sky’s the limit for parents. The controversy over three-parent embryos could soon be old hat. Writing in one of the world’s...
Analysis of legal assisted suicide in Switzerland
Women are the most vulnerable. An extensive survey of assisted suicide in Switzerland between 2003 and 2008 has found that the most vulnerable people are...
Rethinking informed consent
If a trial has no or only minor effects on important patient interests, do we need it? Informed consent is a bioethical precept of paramount...
The industrial revolution in surrogacy
An innovative doctor wants to set up a baby factory in India. An Indian doctor cum businesswoman is looking to build the world’s biggest ‘baby...
New technology could raise awareness in minimally conscious patients
Electric stimulation can increase awarenessA promising way of rousing minimally conscious patients has been developed by a group of Belgian researchers. In the April edition...