Got the blues? Insert a brain pleasure chip
Only a decade awayIn addition to enhanced cognition, enhanced pleasure is also on the horizon, according to an article in Nature Reviews Neuroscience. A research...
Last-minute conscience rule grants protection to abortion objectors
Doctors, clinics, receptionists and others can refuse to give care they find morally objectionable As a parting shot at the Obama Administration’s support for abortion,...
Puberty blocking for gender identity disorder
US Endocrine Society issues draft guidelines Children under 15 with a gender identity problem should be treated with puberty-delaying drugs to allow them to choose...
Face transplants an ethical minefield
If they fail, doctors should consider voluntary euthanasia, says Caplan Doctors in Cleveland have performed the first American face transplant. In a 22-hour operation they...
Obama courts scientists
Science is about “protecting free and open inquiry” Bioethics isn’t just about science, but about the human uses of science. There’s always a danger of...
Doctor cleared in California transplant case
Jury calls for clearer guidelines for donation after cardiac death A California transplant surgeon has been cleared of intentional harm after an intellectually-disabled man whose...
Vatican hangs its bioethics on human dignity
First major statement in 20 years The Vatican has released its first major statement on bioethics in 20 years. Although the conclusions of Dignitas Personae...
The rich are different from you and me: they hire surrogates
New York Times journalist Alex Kuczynski turns her life into newspaper copy"They were careless people," wrote F. Scott Fitzgerald. "They smashed up things and creatures...
Scottish MP proposes euthanasia right for 12-year-olds
Based on age when kids choose which divorced parent to live with Children'sautonomy is a tricky issue. When can they give informed consent tohaving an...
Down syndrome babies targeted
Follows results of Danish screening program Australiaurgently needs a national screening policy for Down syndrome,experts say, after international research showed it could halve thenumber of...
Dramatic rise in caesareans in Australia
Due more to older pregnancies than vanity The number ofpregnant Australian women requesting caesareans for psychological orsocial reasons has increased by 50% over the past...
Nature backs mind-enhancing drugs
Give students drugs if they can’t afford them. Last year an informal survey in Nature found that 20% of scientists used mind-enhancing drugs to cope...