Bioethics News and Research

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Johns Hopkins expert says crucial ethics should be considered in HIV cure research

A cure for HIV infection - the International AIDS Society meeting in Kuala Lumpur in early July offered new hope of the possibility, after researchers announced that two "Boston patients" had shown no resurgence of the virus after receiving a bone marrow transplant and ceasing their antiretroviral therapy (ART).

14 Aug 2013

Experts say current social media guidelines are misframing issue of physician professionalism

From the small-town doctor to the Freud—Ferenczi debate over sharing personal anecdotes, controversy over physicians' professional identity is nothing new. The question of physician conduct on social media is simply a new context for an old debate, but ethics and psychiatry experts at Johns Hopkins say current guidelines are misframing the issue of physician professionalism online, missing the opportunity to shed new light on the evergreen issue of physicians' role in society.

14 Aug 2013

Researchers unveil comprehensive portrait of the genome of world's first immortal cell line

A team from the University of Washington has unveiled a comprehensive portrait of the genome of the world's first immortal cell line, known as HeLa. The cell line was derived in 1951 from an aggressive cervical cancer that killed Henrietta Lacks, a 31-year-old African-American tobacco farmer and mother of five - the subject of the 2010 New York Times bestseller, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

8 Aug 2013

Experts say action needed urgently to ensure India's new policy does not backfire

In an editorial published online today in BMJ, Johns Hopkins bioethicist Jeremy Sugarman and other experts warn that action is urgently needed to deal with possible unintended consequences of India's new policy protecting research participants.

1 Aug 2013

Experts address ethical issues raised by FDA's approval of Truvada for HIV prevention

The Food and Drug Administration's approval last year of the drug Truvada for prevention of HIV infection was a milestone in the fight against HIV/AIDS, but experts are cautioning that it is only the beginning of new ethical concerns for health care professionals, policy makers, researchers and those taking Truvada to prevent HIV infection.

1 Aug 2013

Longer looks: Immigrant health tied to their status; one end-of-life expert confronts a personal journey

Every week reporter Ankita Rao selects interesting reading from around the Web.

20 Jul 2013

Family caregivers of older adults with dementia willing to stop cancer screening: Research

Research from the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University Center for Aging Research has found that many family caregivers of older adults with dementia are willing to consider stopping cancer screening of the elderly individual; they are also relieved when the older adult's physician brings it up.

20 Jul 2013

Study provides insight into how primary care patients experience genetic testing

Several companies sell genetic testing directly to consumers, but little research has been done on how consumers experience such tests. The tests have raised questions about the validity and accuracy of the information provided to consumers - especially without the involvement of a qualified health care professional.

16 Jul 2013

Altruism is important, but financial compensation a convincing reason for egg donation in some countries

Egg donation is now one of the major reasons why couples travel abroad for fertility treatment. Because this growing trend may circumvent regulations at home or raise concerns about financial inducement, it has also become one of the most controversial.

9 Jul 2013

Medical ethicists find no justification to support UK's legal ban on sex selection

As Europe's leading fertility specialists gather at a conference in London this weekend, a major new publication from leading medical ethicists finds no justification to support the UK's legal ban on sex selection before pregnancy for 'social' reasons.

3 Jul 2013

New CREHST program aims to expose students to clinical aspect of cancer research

Building off the success of its Continuing Umbrella for Research Education Program that encourages underrepresented minority undergraduate and high school students to pursue careers in healthcare, the Cancer Institute of New Jersey is offering a related program focusing on clinical research.

18 Jun 2013

U-M receives $1.1M grant from AMA to provide innovative ways of training new physicians

For 164 years, the University of Michigan Medical School has led the nation in innovative ways of training new physicians.

15 Jun 2013

Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine to admit undocumented students

Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine is the first medical school in the nation to announce that it is accepting applications for admission from undocumented immigrants in response to President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

14 Jun 2013

Greenwall Foundation names Peter Reese as 2013 Greenwall Faculty Scholar in Bioethics

The Greenwall Foundation has named Penn Medicine's Peter Reese, MD, MSCE, a leading voice for improving organ donor rates and access to transplant, as a 2013 Greenwall Faculty Scholar in Bioethics.

10 Jun 2013

Report: 83% of cancer doctors face oncology drug shortages

Eighty-three percent of cancer doctors report that they've faced oncology drug shortages, and of those, nearly all say that their patients' treatment has been impacted, according to a study from researchers at the Abramson Cancer Center and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania that will be presented today at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Abstract #CRA6510).

4 Jun 2013

New research shows uremic toxins increase heart attack risk

MD-Patients with advanced kidney disease who are undergoing hemodialysis are known to be highly susceptible to heart attacks and other cardiovascular complications, and now scientists likely know why.

31 May 2013

New GWA can pose major ethical problems if used incorrectly, say ESHG recommendations

The use of genome-wide analysis, where the entirety of an individual's DNA is examined to look for the genomic mutations or variants which can cause health problems is a massively useful technology for diagnosing disease.

17 May 2013

New guidelines to help health care professionals improve care near the end of life

People with chronic or life-threatening illnesses often experience problems with their care, including confusion and conflict over how to make good decisions, poor communication with care providers, inadequate pain and symptom relief, and treatments with little or no benefit. Poor care decreases patients' quality of life, increases family stress, and adds cost but not value to health care, often with heartbreaking financial consequences for families.

8 May 2013

Program on Medicine and Religion selects faculty scholars

The University of Chicago Medicine's Program on Medicine and Religion has selected its second round of faculty scholars whose focus will be on the relationship between a physician's spirituality and their ability to deal with the pressures of practicing medicine.

6 May 2013

Experts to discuss changes to medical ethics paradigms proposed by bioethics colleagues

Experts from across disciplines at Johns Hopkins will hold a symposium on Thursday, April 11, 2013 to discuss changes to medical ethics paradigms as proposed by their own bioethics colleagues in a recent, groundbreaking publication.

11 Apr 2013