To Leak or Not to Leak?
Last Thursday, anti-terrorism police in the UK arrested the opposition minister for immigration, Damian Green (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/nov/29/whitehall-damian-green-civil-servant). He is suspected by the police of ‘conspirac…
Read MoreUniversal AIDS testing: should we save the many at the cost of harm to the few?
In a paper published in the Lancet yesterday, a group of WHO scientists have suggested that a radical change to HIV testing would be necessary to combat the epidemic. The authors published details of a mathematical model of “universal volun…
Read MoreKeeping Viagra in the bedchamber and out of the arena?
Viagra may not just be a performance enhancer in the bedroom, but also on the sports arena. Researchers are studying whether it helps dilate athlete’s blood vessels and improve their oxygen-carrying capacity. If it is found to improve…
Read MoreThe reason why it’s time to be silent about the Englaro Case
While the right to die has been a prominent topic of discussion in the UK, it has also been exercising Italian courts and media. Eluana Englaro entered in an irreversible vegetative state seventeen years ago, after a car crash.
Read MoreThe Future of Making Organs for Self-Transplantation
Scientists have been able to create a new windpipe using stem cells. They took a windpipe from a dead patient, removed all the cells, and placed stem cells from a patient onto the remaining scaffolding to create what was in effect a new win…
Read MoreStatus quo bias and presumed consent for organ donation
Yesterday the UK organ donation taskforce released its report on a presumed consent (opt-out) system for organ donation. To the consternation of the chief medical officer and the Prime Minister the taskforce advised against the introduction…
Read MoreAnimal experimentation: morally acceptable, or just the way things always have been?
Following the announcement last week that Oxford University’s controversial Biomedical Sciences building is now complete and will be open for business in mid-2009, the ethical issues surrounding the use of animals for scientific experimenta…
Read MoreReliably sinful – how to maximise profit
Even in these changing times it would appear some things stay the same. One example would be our insatiable appetite for vice. Indeed, given the bleak financial situation the demand for a bit of instant gratification might well be on the in…
Read MoreTeenagers and the right to be wrong
A teenager who is a Jehovah’s witness declines a potentially life-saving blood transfusion. Another teenager, self-conscious and strongly believing that it will make her happier, requests a boob job. When minors make decisions that may be a…
Read MoreMuch ado about nothing
“A newborn is not a person, because a person is someone who has self-consciousness and has a sense of morality and rationality. In some cases of severely deformed babies, it could be reasonable to accept euthanasia like in Holland.” This si…
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