November 2008

A Scientific Renaissance

Rick Weiss has an interesting piece over here on how stem cell research as we know it is on the way out, and is heading for an extreme make-over. He rightly reminds his readers on how conservative the FDA has been in allowing any human clinical trials to move forward with embryonic stem cells. “At [...]

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Embryo Adoption in the News

‘Embryo adoption’ service seeks to give infertile couples a chance to have a family from PhysOrg.com The day the frozen embryo arrived via FedEx was the day Maria Lancaster began experiencing firsthand what she had always believed: that human life begins at conception. [...] Note to my readers: I still don’t want to wholeheartedly endorse [...]

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Promising Stem Cell Research – Bank on It!

He wins again! Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University in Japan and KING of the induced pluripotent stem cell, a technique which allows you to take adult stem cells and turn them back to an embryonic state. While not able to go to human trials yet and not without safety hurdles to overcome (i.e. tumor formation [...]

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How Would You Like Your Eggs?

Human egg sales are big in the news this week. First, with the growing slump in the economy it is reported that more and more women are phoning in to inquire about selling their eggs or offering their womb for a surrogate pregnancy. Alternative Reproductive Resourcess states they are spending more time on the phone [...]

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If I Only Had a Brain

The Scientist has a short blurb out today asking their audience about the ‘Future of Brain Interfaces’. It’s free to access this article however, you do need to set-up a free account. They are asking their readership to provide a “wish-list” for brain interface technologies. What would you want added, subtracted or changed? Mind-bending, mind-altering, [...]

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Adult Stem Cells – the Gift that Just Keeps on Giving

Embryonic Stem Cells Need Not Apply: I just can’t even keep up with the advances some days. My inbox is filled with the news of patients being treated using adult stem cells, their own stem cells, or more advances in just the research side of adult stem cells. Here are some amazing stories from this [...]

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Living Souls

As a foundation for engaging with bioethical issues, it’s helpful to consider who and what we are as human beings. And because human persons are the subjects and objects of morality, how we understand our nature greatly determines how we understand the moral boundaries and standards for treating each other and ourselves. The reality of [...]

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Assisted Reproduction Linked To Higher Birth Defects

A new U.S. study shows that babies conceived using assisted reproductive technologies have a two to four times higher rate of certain birth defects. From the report: 1.1 per cent of all the control mothers reported using ART. 4.5 per cent of the control mothers aged 35 and over reported using ART. Among single births, [...]

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Stem Cells Drafted for War on Wounds

A new programme at the US Department of Defense funds regenerative medicine to help wounded vets, but a surprising level of detail seems top secret! “As expected of a programme that has the enthusiastic support of the Bush administration, AFIRM will steer clear of embryonic stem (ES) cells. Since the technologies are supposed to be [...]

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Stem Cells 101: Adult, Embryonic, and Exploitation

Here’s a good post by one of our CBC Director’s, Bernard Moon. It’s always good to review especially given that President-elect Obama and Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi have stated that a top priority will be to increase federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. He begins: With the recent coverage of President-elect Obama’s [...]

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