Clipmarks | Bioethics Clips

Heard about this on the christian radio today

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:56:27 GMT

clipped by: mhumble

Good News: Patients' Own Cells Show Promise for Treating Lou Gehrig's Disease

Scientists are hoping to treat patients with a genetic disease by rewinding their skin cells to an embryonic-like state, according to a study published Thursday in the online edition of Science and reported by the Los Angeles Times.

The researchers took the new stem cells and converted them into nerve cells that could help treat Lou Gehrig's disease.

Dawn Vargo, bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family Action, called it another step forward for ethical research.

"Although there are still hurdles to overcome before this can be used to treat patients," she said, "it demonstrates that this new form of ethical research is light-years ahead of life-destroying embryonic stem-cell research."

Are You REALLY A Woman?

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:32:38 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "The tests never unmasked a man posing as a woman, but they did turn up several athletes who were born with genetic defects that made them appear — according to lab results, at least — to be men. In 1967, the Polish sprinter Ewa Klobukowska was barred from the sport because she failed the chromosomal test, even though she had passed the nude test a year earlier. In the 1980s, the Spanish hurdler Maria José Martínez Patino was disqualified because the test revealed, to her surprise, that she was born with a Y chromosome. Her eligibility was reinstated in 1988.
The practice came under increasing criticism in the 1990s by doctors, scientists and athletes who argued that the tests were not just invasive, but were also bad science."

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

By the time they arrive in Beijing, most athletes have resigned themselves to the possibility of undergoing a battery of tests for banned substances, like anabolic steroids and certain cough medicines.

But some female athletes may find they are asked to submit to an entirely different examination — one that will test whether they are, in fact, women.

Some medical ethicists have said the practice is too intrusive. “Real people are going to be hurt by this,” said Alice Dreger, an associate professor in medical humanities and bioethics at Northwestern University.

“Real Olympic athletes who have spent their whole life waiting for this moment.”

At first, women were asked to parade nude before a panel of doctors to verify their sex. At the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, officials switched to a chromosomal test.

Mapping The Mysteries Of The Brain's Two Halves

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 01:39:09 GMT

clipped by: Tylast

Clip Source: www.npr.org

Fresh Air from WHYY, July 28, 2008 · We humans have long wondered what separates us from the other animals — but neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga may have given the topic more consideration than most.

Gazzaniga, a pioneer in what's called split-brain research, has just published Human: The Science Behind What Makes Us Unique. He talks to Terry Gross about his work, which involves investigating the varying functions of the left and right sides of our brains, and about how that research informs our understanding of the brain and human consciousness.

Gazzaniga has spent the past 45 years studying the functions of the left and right brain. He's director of the University of California–Santa Barbara's SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind. He also serves on the President's Council on Bioethics and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In addition to Human, Gazzaniga is also the author of The Ethical Brain.

The End of Aging - Still a Controvertial Vision

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:28:41 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Leon Kass and his friends are contemporary incarnations of an Orwellian nightmare. Besides "War is Peace", I hear also "Death is Life".

Of course there are no known social good coming from the conquest of death, we never lived in a social system that conquered death. How could we possibly know? But Kass and his friends, seem to have some privileged knowledge we do not possess, and they already decided for us as individuals and as a society. Well, in time, I believe, they will have the choice to walk their talk. All I want is a chance to walk mine.

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

In his non-fiction Amazon bestseller, Ending Aging, Aubrey de Grey, champions recent progress in genetics and calorie-restricted diets in laboratory animals that hold forth the promise that someday science will enable us to exert total control over our own biological aging and substantially slow down the aging process.

Dr. de Grey

believes that the key biomedical technology required to eliminate aging-derived debilitation and death entirely is now within reach —technology that would not only slow but periodically reverse age-related physiological decay, leaving us biologically young into an indefinite future—is now within reach.

Leon Kass, the former head of Bush's Council on Bioethics, insists that “the finitude of human life is a blessing for every human individual”. Bioethicist Daniel Callahan of the Garrison, New York-based Hastings Centre, agrees: “There is no known social good coming from the conquest of death.”

Tags: aging, life extension

Like It or Not, in Fifty Years You Might Be a Vegan

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 02:34:23 GMT

clipped by: Lindsey
clipper's remarks: The earth can only sustain so much animal agriculture.

Clip Source: marketplace.publicradio.org

Food crisis solution: Go vegan

We grow enough food for everyone, but livestock are devouring our food supply. Commentator and bioethicist Peter Singer says unless we change, the dinner plate of the future will look far different.

So if meat and corn are off the table and other grains are prohibitively expensive, what are we supposed to eat?

Commentator and bioethicist Pete Singer says our diets are going to change whether we like it or not.

Peter Singer: Why are we in the midst of a food crisis when world production of food per person has actually grown steadily since the 1960s?

When we use animals to convert grain and soy into food we can eat, they use most of the feed to keep warm and develop bones and other parts we can't eat. So we're wasting most of the food value of the crops we feed them. In the case of cattle, at least nine-tenths of the grain they eat is squandered.

Tags: food, food crisis, environment, earth, vegan, vegetarian, bioethics

Men could have kids with chimpanzees - gov must act

Sat, 31 May 2008 10:04:00 GMT

clipped by: A53GG4

Clip Source: www.theregister.co.uk

Men could have kids with chimpanzees - gov must act

Religious bioethics hardliner's amazing claim

By Lewis Page → More by this author

Published Tuesday 29th April 2008 12:13 GMT

A leading Scottish churchman and bioethics thinktank operator has warned again of the dangers attendant on genetic research, and recommended that there should be a law against men having children with female chimpanzees.

The Scotsman reports today that Calum MacKellar, an Elder of the Church of Scotland who trained as a biochemist, has called for government action to prohibit the possible interbreeding of men and lady chimps to create "humanzees".

"The Human Fertilisation and Embryo Bill prohibits the placement of animal sperm into a woman," the worried Christian told the Scotsman.

"The reverse is not prohibited. It's not even mentioned. This should not be the case."

Dr MacKellar is apparently concerned about the possible human rights and status of humanzees.

Tags: science

Indignity and Bioethics

Mon, 26 May 2008 18:48:51 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: article.nationalreview.com

Steven Pinker discovers the human-dignity cabal.

By Yuval Levin

Human dignity has long been a contentious subject in American bioethics. A frequently employed if ill-defined concept in European political life, in international law, and in the ethical tradition of the West, dignity has had a particularly hard time finding its precise meaning and place in the Anglo-American sphere. Is it just a synonym for equality or autonomy, or does it describe something else — a concept foreign to our political vocabulary? And either way, does it belong in an American bioethics, or is it best left safely across the pond? Different scholars and observers through the years have taken for granted quite different definitions of the term, while others have simply denied its utility altogether.

↓ Keep reading this article ↓

Tags: bio-ethics, steven pinker

British lawmakers back animal-human embryos for research

Tue, 20 May 2008 10:35:53 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: "I believe that we owe it to ourselves and future generations to introduce these measures and in particular to give our unequivocal backing, within the right framework of rules and standards, to stem cell research," Brown wrote in the Observer.

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

British lawmakers voted against a bid to ban the creation of animal-human embryos for medical research Monday, despite critics including the Catholic Church charging the move was unethical.

The House of Commons was voting on the Human Embryology and Fertilisation Bill, potentially the biggest shake-up of laws affecting sensitive areas like stem cell research and abortion for nearly two decades.

An amendment that would have outlawed the creation of hybrid embryos, which can ensure a more plentiful supply of stem cells for use in research into treating conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, was defeated by 336 to 176 votes.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who wrote an impassioned defence of the move in a Sunday newspaper, and David Cameron, leader of the main opposition Conservatives, were among those opposed to the ban.

Tags: bioethics, ethics, stemcell therapy

I just want to protect him

Wed, 14 May 2008 13:46:36 GMT

clipped by: Tri-City Psychology

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Experts from the Nuffield Council on Bioethics are calling for a debate over the ethical dilemmas those caring for dementia patients face.

What are the difficult decisions that carers like Denise Lintern face?

It is well-known that people with Alzheimer's disease - the most common form of dementia - develop an independent streak during the mid-stages of the condition.

This will lead them to wander away from their carers, potentially putting themselves in danger.

Stanley Lintern is no different.

The 65-year-old was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 13 years ago, just after taking early retirement from his post as an chartered engineer with the NHS.

As the disease developed, his wife Denise became concerned about the way he would take off.

It got to the stage where Mrs Lintern used to lock the gate in the garden or keep the doors in their bungalow locked

"To many people it may seem unfair, but when you are caring for someone with Alzheimer's you are faced with these decisions each day.

Tags: alzheimer's, dementia

Genetically modified human embryo stirs criticism

Tue, 13 May 2008 14:50:29 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: It is definitely unacceptable to try it when it is unsafe. It is definitely worth trying when it will be safe. It will be safe eventually, our job meanwhile is to create an adequate ethical framework that will allow the harnessing of this future technology to the benefit of all humans and other beings.

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

AP) -- News that scientists have for the first time genetically altered a human embryo is drawing fire from some watchdog groups that say it's a step toward creating "designer babies."

The idea of designer babies is that someday, scientists may insert particular genes into embryos to produce babies with desired traits like intelligence or athletic ability. Some people find that notion repugnant, saying it turns children into designed objects, and would create an unequal society where some people are genetically enriched while others would be considered inferior.

The study appears to be the first report of genetically modifying a human embryo. It was presented last fall at a meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, but didn't draw widespread public attention then.

"We're not even close to having that technology in hand to be able to do it right," she said, and it would be ethically unacceptable to try it when it's unsafe.

Tags: biotechnology, bioethics

"dignity" in bioethics is an irrelevant, useless concept

Mon, 12 May 2008 20:27:08 GMT

clipped by: Lexica

Clip Source: www.tnr.com

The bioethicist Ruth Macklin, who had been fed up with loose talk about dignity intended to squelch research and therapy, threw down the gauntlet in a 2003 editorial, "Dignity Is a Useless Concept." Macklin argued that bioethics has done just fine with the principle of personal autonomy--the idea that, because all humans have the same minimum capacity to suffer, prosper, reason, and choose, no human has the right to impinge on the life, body, or freedom of another. This is why informed consent serves as the bedrock of ethical research and practice, and it clearly rules out the kinds of abuses that led to the birth of bioethics in the first place, such as Mengele's sadistic pseudoexperiments in Nazi Germany and the withholding of treatment to indigent black patients in the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study. Once you recognize the principle of autonomy, Macklin argued, "dignity" adds nothing.

The Stupidity of Dignity

Sun, 11 May 2008 11:27:22 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: Steven Pinker, a modern most advanced thinker, a must read

Clip Source: www.tnr.com

This spring, the President's Council on Bioethics released a 555-page report, titled Human Dignity and Bioethics. The Council, created in 2001 by George W. Bush, is a panel of scholars charged with advising the president and exploring policy issues related to the ethics of biomedical innovation, including drugs that would enhance cognition, genetic manipulation of animals or humans, therapies that could extend the lifespan, and embryonic stem cells and so-called "therapeutic cloning" that could furnish replacements for diseased tissue and organs. Advances like these, if translated into freely undertaken treatments, could make millions of people better off and no one worse off. So what's not to like? The advances do not raise the traditional concerns of bioethics, which focuses on potential harm and coercion of patients or research subjects. What, then, are the ethical concerns that call for a presidential council?

Tags: steven pinker, bioethics, genetics, dignity

I am a transhumanist, thanks

Mon, 05 May 2008 09:21:56 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: I say, fear not. If you have clearly transhumanist beliefs, like the notion that human enhancement is coming in the next few decades and will be a big deal, then don’t be afraid to call yourself one.

As Dr. Wittgenstein, one of my favorite philosophers ever, used to argue, words are just labels we fill with our own content. To think that a word has any inherent meaning aside from its use in language is absurd.

Clip Source: www.acceleratingfuture.com

I have a suitcase. Inside of it is concern for the future, an Enlightenment approach to technology, an embrace of humanism with a qualifier to aim higher, fascination for cyborgs and cybernetics, interest in Artificial Intelligence and Intelligence Augmentation, technoprogressive bioethics (yes Dale, your term has been hijacked), a desire to freeze myself if necessary, interest in molecular manufacturing, self-replicating machines, Big Picture, long-term thinking, and a sense of self-depreciating humor.

What should I name that suitcase?

To anyone confident about their own ideas, and unafraid of naysayers, the answer is a no-brainer: transhumanism. Transhumanism is the philosophy that we adhere to, the suitcase word we use to describe our fascinating interests, which are often relevant to the future of humanity, and often even sanctioned by mainstream news outlets. (During the last ten years.)

Tags: transhumanism, ai

Moral Philosopher Questions Memory Manipulation

Thu, 01 May 2008 18:07:32 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: Hurley says while the real threat of developing PTSD might be a good enough reason to use beta-blockers as a preventative measure, she also wants policy makers to consider the ramifications of what such a treatment may mean to a person’s moral well-being. “Beta-blockers do not cause amnesia. Rather they make memories less vivid, detailed and arousing,” explains Hurley, who specializes in bioethics. “They lessen the emotional impact when someone is recalling upsetting events.”

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Is medicated memory manipulation ethically sound? And perhaps more importantly, who should be charged with the decision to deliver such a treatment: patient or physician?

In the Academy Award-winning film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a fictional, non-surgical procedure called ‘targeted memory erasure’ is used to delete painful memories the afflicted wish to forget – permanently.

And while the story’s science-fiction based concept earned the movie an Oscar for best original screenplay, real-life scientists are conducting clinical trials today using beta-blockers – drugs traditionally used for varying heart conditions – for manipulating the memories of people, who may go on to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Hurley says while the real threat of developing PTSD might be a good enough reason to use beta-blockers as a preventative measure, she also wants policy makers to consider the ramifications of what such a treatment may mean to a person’s moral well-being.

Tags: memory, morality, ethics

Do we want a truly liberal society?

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:40:36 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: A liberal society embraces pluralism, in the sense that it does not seek to impose any one vision of what it means to be virtuous or to lead a good life. Within such a society, approval is commonly expressed for John Stuart Mill’s view that “experiments in living” should not be merely tolerated, but actually welcomed and celebrated (Mill 1974: 120).

As Max Charlesworth writes, “In a liberal society personal autonomy, the right to choose one’s own way of life for oneself, is the supreme value.” He adds that this includes what he calls ethical pluralism: members of the society are free to hold a wide range of moral, religious, and non-religious positions, with no core values or public morality that it is the law’s business to enforce (Charlesworth 1993: 1). Accordingly, a liberal society makes a sharp distinction between the sphere of personal moral views and that of the law; no one can use the law to impose their beliefs on others (16-20).

Clip Source: ieet.org

The goal of a liberal society puts obligations on its citizens, that we practice reasonableness and openness to ideas, that we do not just tolerate one another but support one another to our fullest flourishing. A liberal society is not neutral about values like disease and health, sloth and effort, deceit and integrity, cowardice and courage. There are excellences that citizens of a liberal society must promote to survive.

Commentators on new biomedical technology often appear to believe that we are faced with Frankensteinian possibilities that cry out for a regulatory response. This, however, is getting things exactly back to front. On the contrary, the problem that we currently face is that widespread fear of new technologies has created an atmosphere in which liberal tolerance is under challenge. In the field of bioethics, what we need right now is a truly liberal response.

identify genuine dangers and concerns, but deal with them strictly in accordance with liberal values

Tags: liberal society, bioethics