Bioethics News and Research

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Listening to older patients who want to stop dialysis

Dr. Susan Wong sat down with an 84-year-old patient in the hospital, where he'd been admitted with a flare-up of a serious autoimmune condition and deteriorating kidney function.

28 Feb 2019

Studying Root Canal Anatomy with Non-Destructive Imaging Tools

In this interview, Marco Versiani discusses how he uses micro-CT in dentistry for the Root Canal Anatomy Project.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 25 Feb 2019

Clinical trial researchers can initiate advance care planning discussions to help cancer patients

Cancer clinical trials are an important option for patients with cancer. Yet, once a trial ends, patients still need care plans.

20 Feb 2019

Several health experts worldwide gather at EUDONORGAN event

More than 120 professionals from the field of health and other experts from thirty-three countries worldwide have taken part in the social awareness event of the EUDONORGAN project, an initiative directly launched by the European Parliament and led by the University of Barcelona, together with the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation and the DTI - TPM Foundation, located at the Barcelona Science Park.

19 Feb 2019

New report explores the wide-ranging questions on death

Should death be defined in strictly biological terms — as the body's failure to maintain integrated functioning of respiration, blood circulation, and neurological activity?

6 Jan 2019

The CCA releases three reports on requests for medical assistance in dying

The Council of Canadian Academies has released three reports on requests for medical assistance in dying, the result of an independent Expert Panel review conducted at the request of the federal government. The reports were released following their tabling in Parliament today.

13 Dec 2018

Storage failures of eggs and embryos gain a new perspective

On March 3, 2018, a liquid nitrogen storage tank at the University Hospitals Fertility Center in Cleveland failed. Dr. Eli Adashi, a professor of medical science at Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School, characterized the event as a "tragic accident" in which 950 patients lost more than 4,000 frozen eggs and embryos.

20 Nov 2018

Identifying ways to improve existing guidelines for ethical human-animal chimera research

In Greek mythology, a chimera is a figure with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a serpent. But the concept is not entirely imaginary.

25 Oct 2018

A special report on US’ aging societies

The United States is an aging society, where one in five people will be 65 or older by 2035.

17 Oct 2018

Study to explore bioethics of brain organoids

Research scientists around the world are now able to investigate the structural, cellular, and developmental intricacies of the human brain using bioengineered stem cell-based models called organoids.

16 Oct 2018

Legal scholars sound alarm on academies' report about returning research results to participants

In a Policy Forum article appearing in the Oct. 12 issue of Science, leading bioethics and legal scholars sound the alarm about a recent report from National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.

12 Oct 2018

Uterus transplantation with living donors ethically as problematic as altruistic surrogacy

In 2014, the first child to have been gestated in a donated uterus was born. Although research into uterus transplantation is still in an early phase, many see the donations as a success.

27 Sep 2018

Experts warn health care providers to slow down in allowing smart pill in patient care settings

Enthusiasm for an emerging digital health tool, the smart pill, is on the rise but researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have published a paper in the American Journal of Bioethics that cautions health care providers and policymakers to slow down when it comes to allowing this technology in patient care settings.

21 Sep 2018

Use of transcranial electrical stimulation to bolster creativity has far-reaching implications

What is creativity, and can it be enhanced -- safely -- in a person who needs a boost of imagination? Georgetown experts debate the growing use of electrical devices that stimulate brain tissue, and conclude there is potential value in the technique. However, use of these machines also raises neuro-ethical, legal, and social issues that must now be addressed.

18 Sep 2018

EU-funded project makes recommendations to protect rights of intersex people

Intersex people are born with chromosomal, hormonal and/or anatomic variations that deviate from what is typically defined as male and female.

17 Sep 2018

New survey reveals public attitudes towards commercial use of genetic data samples

The almost 5 million people who paid to get their DNA analyzed by the company 23andMe recently found out that their genetic data and related health information might have been sold to a major drug company.

31 Aug 2018

Experts advise against universal genomic screening of newborns

In a new report, experts at The Hastings Center advise against genomic screening of newborns, despite it's potential for providing life long personalized care.

16 Aug 2018

Report discusses whether all newborns should undergo genetic sequencing

As the cost of genome sequencing decreases, researchers and clinicians are debating whether all newborns should be sequenced at birth, facilitating a lifetime of personalized medical care.

16 Aug 2018

The Bioethics of AI in the Healthcare Industry

With the advent of artificial intelligence, it is imperative that we examine the ethics of machine learning and data collection. Hugh Whittall, Director of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, explains what AI is, how it is transforming the healthcare industry and the ethical concerns of the Council.

6 Jul 2018

Top policy expert’s ties to giant drugmaker often go unstated

When Dr. Mark McClellan sat for an in-depth 30-minute question-and-answer session at an April health policy forum, the audience was filled with top researchers, advocates and Capitol Hill staffers eager to hear what insight the former head of the Food and Drug Administration would dispense.

29 Jun 2018