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Bioethics news.

A Russian Biologist Wants To Create More Gene-Edited Babies
A Russian scientist says he wants to create more genetically modified babies, flouting international objections that such a step would be premature, unethical and irresponsible.
NPR, 06/25/2019
NIH director will no longer speak on all-male science panels
The head of the National Institutes of Health announced Wednesday that he would no longer appear on all-male panels at public scientific meetings, saying the effort to include women and other underrepresented people “must begin at the top.”
The Washington Post, 06/23/2019
As price of insulin soars, Americans caravan to Canada for lifesaving medicine
As their minivan rolled north, they felt their nerves kick in — but they kept on driving. At the wheel: Lija Greenseid, a rule-abiding Minnesota mom steering her Mazda5 on a cross-border drug run. Her daughter, who is 13, has Type 1 diabetes and needs insulin. In the United States, it can cost hundreds of dollars per vial. In...
The Washington Post, 06/22/2019
12 million pills and 700 deaths: How a few pill mills helped fan the U.S. opioid inferno
Soon after he took over as medical director of the Urgent Care & Surgery Center in eastern Tennessee in 2012, Dr. Marc Valley realized he was supervising illegal drug dealers in lab coats. Platoons of patients socialized in the parking lot, none seemingly afflicted by injuries. The...
LA Times, 06/21/2019
Never say ‘die’: Why so many doctors won’t break bad news
It’s never easy to tell a patient about a terminal illness, but a longtime doctor whose own diagnosis was botched says physicians must do better.
NBC News, 06/20/2019
Commentary: Give the children freedom to protect their own health
Normally, parents make decisions about their children’s health care. But when it comes to the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and cancer, kids should have the right to protect themselves. That is why Senate Bill 3899A, which would allow teenagers, in consultation with their physicians, to receive vaccines against HPV (human papilloma virus), ought to become the law...
Times Union, 06/19/2019
The Perilous Blessing of Opioids
An injured bioethicist learned firsthand how desperately patients with severe pain need the relief of powerful drugs—and how little support they get to stop taking them.
The Wall Street Journal, 06/18/2019
Points to consider in the reevaluation and reanalysis of genomic test results
A statement from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) regarding the interpretation of genomic test results was published in Nature this week
Nature, 06/14/2019
Democratic 2020 contenders are seizing on wave of antiabortion laws
Abortion as a voting issue typically motivates its opponents more than its supporters. But Democrats running to defeat President Trump in 2020 are trying to reverse that momentum by harnessing outrage against a slew of new state restrictions.
The Washington Post, 06/09/2019
Rape exemptions for abortion are dividing Republicans
Banning rape victims from getting abortions is a step too far for Republican Party leaders, who have publicly cringed at Alabama’s sweeping new law criminalizing abortion in nearly every case.
The Washington Post, 06/08/2019
Cannabis Companies Push F.D.A. to Ease Rules on CBD Products
WASHINGTON — It was Hempy Pet CBD Soft Chews, Mile High Labs and Women Grow, among countless others, squaring off against the likes of the Marijuana Victims Alliance, concerned primary care doctors and a lawyer who admitted he couldn’t wait to sue — all jammed into an overflowing auditorium for hours Friday on the Food and Drug...
The New York Times, 06/07/2019
There’s just one female physician in Congress. We talked to her.
Rep. Kim Schrier – one of the 40 freshmen House Democrats who flipped GOP-held seats – is the only female doctor in Congress. The Washington state pediatrician also manages a chronic illness after having been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a teenager. She narrowly captured her seat last November, defeating Republican Dino Rossi in the most expensive House race in...
The Washington Post, 06/06/2019
‘Screen Time’ Is Over
The debate over screen time is typically accompanied by a good deal of finger-wagging: The digital experience is a ruinous habit, akin to binge-eating curly fries, gambling on cock fights or drinking whiskey with breakfast.
The New York Times, 06/05/2019
A Drug Prolonged Life in Younger Women With Advanced Breast Cancer
A drug that can slow the progression of advanced breast cancer has been shown for the first time to lengthen survival in women whose disease started before or during menopause, researchers reported on Saturday.
The New York Times, 06/04/2019
Measles Cases Reach Highest Level
The New York Times, 06/03/2019
Instagram public awareness campaign aims for real talk about mental health
When it comes to mental health, it can be hard to be real. Stigma surrounds mood disorders, therapy and drugs. Talking to someone else about a challenge can be exhausting and scary. And all too often, people keep their struggles with depression, bipolar disorder, suicidal feelings and other issues to themselves. That has devastating results: The
The Washington Post, 06/02/2019
The price of insulin is surging. This state is the first to make insurance companies eat the cost.
A new Colorado law will ensure that those living with diabetes will spend no more than $100 per month on insulin, making it the first state to limit the cost of an increasingly expensive medication millions of Americans rely on.
The Washington Post, 06/01/2019
To Calm Nervous Families, Pakistan Changes Polio Vaccination Tactics
Paralysis cases spiked after a vaccination drive was derailed by false rumors that dozens of children had collapsed and died. After serious setbacks in April led to a cluster of new polio cases, Pakistan is revamping its vaccination strategy in a renewed effort to wipe out the virus.
The New York Times, 05/31/2019
To Fight Deadly Candida Auris, New York State Proposes New Tactics
New York State health officials are considering rigorous new requirements for hospitals and nursing homes to prevent the spread of a deadly drug-resistant fungus called Candida auris.
The New York Times, 05/30/2019
To Fight Deadly Candida Auris, New York State Proposes New Tactics
New York State health officials are considering rigorous new requirements for hospitals and nursing homes to prevent the spread of a deadly drug-resistant fungus called Candida auris.
The New York Times, 05/30/2019
This New Treatment Could Save the Lives of Babies. But It Costs $2.1 Million.
The price set by the Swiss drugmaker Novartis may be the world’s highest for a single treatment — prompting renewed debate about how society will pay for gene-therapy breakthroughs.
The New York Times, 05/28/2019
4 Women With Lives Scarred by Genital Cutting: Could a Surgeon Heal Them?
Over 200 million women and girls alive today have been circumcised. Four of them shared with The Times their pain, emotional trauma and sexual struggles — and their journey to feel whole.
The New York Times, 05/27/2019
Amazon Is Getting Closer to Building an Alexa Wearable That Knows When You’re Depressed
It looks like Amazon is working on a new Alexa-powered gadget that can listen to you and decide how you feel, and make recommendations based on your human emotions. Citing internal documents and an unnamed source, Bloomberg reports that the company has designed a device that you wear like a wristwatch and beta testing is apparently underway....
Gizmodo, 05/26/2019
A Rival to Botox Invites Doctors to Party in Cancun, With Fireworks, Confetti and Social Media Posts
Top plastic surgeons and cosmetic dermatologists gathered at the Ritz-Carlton in Cancun one weekend this month to learn about a wrinkle-smoothing injection, Jeuveau, that goes on sale this week. Jeuveau’s manufacturer, Evolus, billed the event as an advisory board meeting. But it also appeared to double as a lavish launch party for Jeuveau, which the company is hoping...
The New York Times, 05/24/2019
A Rare Genetic Mutation Leads to Cancer. The Fix May Already Be in the Drugstore.
When Kelley Oliver Douglass got breast cancer, a genetic counselor posed an odd question: Do you and your children have trouble finding hats that fit? They did, and that gave the counselor a clue to the source of the cancer: a mutation in a gene called Pten. Now, researchers have stumbled on a way...
The New York Times, 05/23/2019
In Cities Where It Once Reigned, Heroin Is Disappearing
The rise of the more potent fentanyl in its place has put a generation of older users, who had managed their addiction, at far greater risk of overdose.
The New York Times, 05/22/2019
Citrus Farmers Facing Deadly Bacteria Turn to Antibiotics, Alarming Health Officials
In its decision to approve two drugs for orange and grapefruit trees, the E.P.A. largely ignored objections from the C.D.C. and the F.D.A., which fear that expanding their use in cash crops could fuel antibiotic resistance in humans.
The New York Times, 05/21/2019
Liver transplant rules spark open conflict among transplant centers
Open conflict broke out among U.S. liver transplant centers this week, with doctors and patients in less populous parts of the country seeking a contempt of court order against the Health and Human Services Department and the nonprofit organization that runs the transplant system.
The Washington Post, 05/20/2019
Everything you need to know about the abortion ban news
The rush of Republican-controlled states to mount a challenge to the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion nationwide has sparked confusion about what these new laws actually do. Here’s what you need to know.
The Washington Post, 05/19/2019
Artificial life form given ‘synthetic DNA’
UK scientists have created an artificial version of the stomach bug E. coli that is based on an entirely synthetic form of DNA.
The Washington Post, 05/18/2019