NEWS and VIEWS
The molecule responsible for classifying memories as positive or negative in the brain is discovered
Researchers at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, have identified a brain molecule responsible for associating positive or negative emotions with a memory. The finding, published in Nature, could be used to treat anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress. “We’ve basically gotten a handle on the
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SPECIAL REPORTS
Euthanasia of people with quadriplegia: a new attack on human dignity
A 46-year-old Italian man with quadriplegia has become the second case of euthanasia authorized in Italy, where neither euthanasia nor assisted suicide are legal, having spent the last 18 years confined to bed. It was the patient himself who chose the means to bring about
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BRIEF NEWS
New electronic book on bioethics for young people
The Jérôme Lejeune Foundation and the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life have launched a free e-book “Keys to Bioethics”, which makes the contents
The state of Oklahoma passes a bill banning abortion
The Oklahoma House of Representatives has given its final approval to a bill that almost totally bans abortion, so those who carry out this procedure
Is it ethical to give the result of a biopsy through an app?
The development of new tools in medicine thanks to technology has also produced that their indiscriminate use can cause the relationship between doctor and patient
First man to undergo a pig heart transplant dies
David Bennett, the first man to have a pig heart transplanted two months ago, has died at the age of 57. The heart came from
ABOUT US
The Catholic University of Valencia was founded on 8th of December 2003, the “youngest” of the Spanish Catholic universities. On 20th September 2006, the Institute of Life Sciences was constituted within the University itself, and within it, the Bioethics Observatory.
The Observatory has a website in Spanish that was created on Decembre 2007 (see HERE), and we are now starting a new chapter with our website in English, given the importance of this language in the field of bioethical research.
Our website includes “Special reports”, based on the latest biomedical and biotechnological research findings from the world’s top medical and scientific journals, such as the biological and anthropological status of the human embryo, matters regarding the end of life, especially euthanasia, assisted suicide and palliative care, and also some of the issues that are currently giving rise to major debates, including: assisted reproduction, surrogacy, use of contraceptives and the morning-after pill, transsexuality, genome editing, synthetic biology, production of human-animal chimeras for medical purposes and transhumanism.
Special Reports includes extensive reference material on these topics, which is constantly updated as new information becomes available. It is also a dynamic means of communication with our readers to reflect on these issues.
