Remembering what happened vs. remembering what it meant
An upcoming issue of the Psychological Bulletin will include a review suggesting that the memories of children may be more reliable – at least for evidential legal purposes – than the memories of adults. The review conducted by …
Read MoreKilling the goose that laid the golden egg
The US government has just announced that it is likely to close its enormous Pacific salmon fishery, which stretches across 80% of the USA’s west coast. The once vast salmon stocks have crashed and are now at a mere 6% of the long-ter…
Read MoreIs it Wrong to Deliberately Select Embryos which will have Disabiltites?
A current bill before Parliament would revise the current regulation of IVF. One clause has caused great debate, especially amongst people with disabilities. It states: (9) Persons or embryos that are known to have a gene, chromosome or mit…
Read More‘Reasonable steps’ to prevent gambling
The BBC reports today that a compulsive gambler has failed in a High Court bid to make the bookmaker William Hill repay £2 million of his gambling losses. The gambler, Graham Calvert, claimed that the bookmaker failed in its ‘duty of c…
Read MoreSmall is beautiful, ain’t it? The EU’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies Research
While some see nanotechnology as the solution to our most pressing current problems, or at least as the basis for rapid future technological progress, others fear that nanotech might yield unprecedented catastrophic consequences. Even outsi…
Read MoreBagging the bag
Last month Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that the British Government intended to compel supermarkets to charge customers for plastic bags. The Australian Government has threatened to take the attack on plastic bags even further. Lat…
Read MoreThe Transparency of Clinical Trials
An article in the current issue of Science examines the extent to which new policies regarding the governance of clinical trials promote transparency. It goes on to suggest further issues that remain unaddressed and require attention. The a…
Read MoreMethuselah’s planet: the population cost of longer life
Ageing is a mysterious process. There is a good deal of ongoing research aimed at trying to understand its biological cause, though much remains unknown. But should we try to make our lives longer? In an era of increasing environmental awar…
Read MorePlacebos as cognitive enhancers?
A recent study on the efficacy of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) – antidepressants like Prozac – has been widely reported in the media. Unfortunately it has not been reported very well. Headlines like ‘Ant…
Read MoreDoublethink and double effect; donation after cardiac death
The case of Ruben Navarro is a tragedy on multiple levels. A young man’s death was prolonged, his mother’s desire that his organs be available to save other’s lives went unfulfilled, a number of people continue to wait on transplant lists f…
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