A few days ago, during the Rome meeting of the  European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, a group of Iranian researchers leaded by Professor Ramezani Tehrani said that in a short time we will be able to predict when a wom…

In the news today – scientists have identified a cluster of longevity genes. From the Daily Mail A genetic test which tells whether you will make it to your century has been developed by scientists. The computer program will give indi…

by Julian Savulescu The latest weapon in the arsenal of doping tests is the blood passport. It aims to track the red blood cell count over the last year. Changes during competition indicate doping. Of course it is doomed to fail. The reason…

By Roger Crisp Two recent pieces of news highlighted a major difference between modern and ancient attitudes to the moral status of the human fetus. On the one hand, archaeologists have suggested that a burial of ninety-seven infants at a R…

Largest oil spill in U.S. history continues to devastate Gulf wildlife while the press and independent scientists are continually denied access to spill site and surrounding beaches. by Stephanie Malik On April 20 a wellhead on the Deepwate…

[This is the last of the formal responses in the debate – both debaters will post closing comments at the end of the week. Don't forget to vote next week!] by John William Devine Frank Lampard’s ‘goal’ that never was in England’s …

By Janet Radcliffe-Richards Last Friday’s BBC morning news headlines included a report of two reviews by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of evidence about foetal pain. The reviews concluded that foetuses under 24 weeks…

by Julian Savulescu Illegal prostitution still occurs in countries where it has been decriminalised; illegal use of dangerous drugs still occurs in countries which have relaxed their bans on recreational drugs. But overall, such societies a…

Might there be a universal moral code? When we look around, we everywhere find bitter and seemingly interminable moral disagreements about abortion, or euthanasia, or animal rights, or social justice, and many other issues, not to mention t…

by Shlomit Harrosh Convicted murderer Ronnie Lee Gardner was killed by gunfire on July 18, 2010. Given the choice between lethal injection and being shot, Gardner opted for the firing squad. This was the first firing squad execution in the …