NEWS
Doctor wants to transplant a uterus in a man so he can carry a baby
Getting a man pregnant is the goal of Indian doctor Narendra Kaushik, a surgeon who runs a gender reassignment clinic in New Delhi, who will try to transplant a uterus into a male who has transitioned to the female gender and now [...]
3,000 babies are born in the US thanks to the reversal of chemical abortion with mifepristone
On June 9, 2021, we published a news in our website related to the reversal of chemical abortion with mifepristone. This practice, carried out in the United Kingdom by cardiologist Dermot Kearney and obstetrician Eileen Reilly, has been the subject of a [...]
The new telephone for suicide prevention has answered a thousand calls on its first day
The 024, the new telephone that the Spanish Ministry of Health has launched to serve people with suicidal ideation or close to them, has registered around a thousand calls on its first day of operation, last Tuesday, May 10. The calls lasted [...]
Vermont approves suicide by videoconference
Vermont just passed a law legalizing remote prescription of assisted suicide drugs. The new rule also removes the previous requirement that the doctor has examined the patient. In this way, the doctor will never have to meet the patient in person. Human [...]
Izpisúa regenerates damaged liver in mice through cell reprogramming
The well-known Spanish researcher Juan Carlos Izpisúa has led a research, recently published in Cell Reports, in which scientists have managed to regenerate liver tissue in mice by reprogramming liver cells to earlier stages of development. Mammals have limited regenerative capacity, while [...]
Ethical reflection 20 years after the approval of euthanasia in Belgium
Since 2002, when euthanasia was approved in Belgium, 24,000 people have died using this method, which represents 2% of those who die each year. In that country, certain requirements must be met for a person to request euthanasia: The law contemplates physical [...]
First complete human genome sequence published
On March 31, the complete sequence of the human genome was published for the first time in the journal Science. This work was carried out by nearly 100 researchers from the international Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) Consortium, belonging to the National Human Genome Research [...]
When the level of consciousness is compromised: Ethical implications for the care of unresponsive patients
A recent article, published in the prestigious scientific journal BMC Medical Ethics, analyzes the important issue of assessing the level of consciousness in patients suffering from disorders at this level, which represents an urgent challenge for their attention, monitoring and care. Its [...]
In vivo partial reprogramming alters age-associated molecular changes during physiological aging in mice
A research team led by the Spaniard Juan Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte has published a paper in the journal Nature Aging in which they claim to have achieved cell and tissue rejuvenation in mice, using the technique already described by Shinya Yamanaka more [...]
Experts warn against unethical genetic embryo testing
Genetic embryo diagnosis tests called polygenic risk score (PRS) analysis, would serve to predict the risk of disease in embryos produced by in vitro fertilization According to Nature “A polygenic score (PGS) or polygenic risk score (PRS) is an estimate of an [...]
One of Us publishes statement against war in Ukraine
The European federation "One of Us", of which the Bioethics Observatory of the Catholic University of Valencia is a member, has released a statement denouncing the war in Ukraine. It states that “Europe and Western civilization need a true moral rearmament of [...]
Increase in number of non-assisted suicides in countries where assisted suicide is legal
David Albert Jones, director of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, Oxford (England), recently published an article on euthanasia, assisted suicide and suicide rates in Europe in the Journal of Ethics in Mental Health (JEMH). After compiling a record of non-assisted suicide rates, the [...]
First woman with HIV remission using umbilical cord stem cells
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks the body's immune system, weakening the response to infections or cancers and increasing the risk of cardiovascular problems and other complications. Currently there is no effective cure, although the administration of new antiretrovirals [...]
Colombia decriminalizes abortion up to the sixth month of gestation
The extension of the "culture of death", which legitimizes homicide in more and more circumstances, finds a dramatic example in Colombia after the decriminalization of abortion. Pioneer in the legalization of euthanasia in Latin America, now it returns to lead the set [...]
Study analyzes FDA data on chemical abortions
The study, published in Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology, claims there is a "significant" gap in U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reporting of chemical abortions due to pill complications, raising questions about whether officials were informed when they deregulated its [...]
New findings related to neuronal tissue regeneration
Research opens up new possibilities for generating functional neurons in the adult brain from stem cells in conditions with of neuronal loss, such as neurodegenerative diseases. Neurogenesis is a developmental process that generates new functional neurons and occurs throughout life in certain [...]
For the first time, a robot performs surgery without human help
A robot has performed surgery without human guidance. It was a "delicate and complex" intervention in which two ends of a pig's intestine were connected (see HERE). Undoubtedly, this fact represents a new step towards fully automated surgery in humans. The protagonist [...]
Pregnant and lactating women: “therapeutic orphans”?
Clinical research on some drugs for pregnant and lactating women sometimes tries to stop for legal, ethical and safety reasons, when there is not enough clinical evidence to give them the desired reliability. This is because some drugs used in this population [...]
France intends to ban sexual reorientation therapies
The French National Assembly has unanimously approved (142 votes in favor and none against), a law that prohibits sexual "reorientation therapies" that try to impose heterosexuality on lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals. In addition, it announces sanctions of up to three years [...]
On the moral problem of vaccination
The conflict of vaccination mandates that should be accorded to people who refuse to be vaccinated is a topic of bioethical debate. In previous posts, we analyzed the reasons that support vaccination, from the recognition of available scientific evidence and respect for [...]