SPECIAL REPORTS
The ethical dilemma of artificial wombs for development of the fetonate
Since the clinical advent of in vitro fertilization in the early 1980s, a wide range of ethical considerations and concerns regarding artificial womb technology (AWT) have been described. Recent advances in the development of extracorporeal [...]
Surrogacy: Making children is the new slavery of the 21st century
Surrogacy alters and subordinates the child's well-being and physical and mental health to the wishes of the intended parents/grandparents; it goes against the best interests of the child by breaking their maternal bond after childbirth, [...]
Francisco J. Ayala, the legacy of a great scientist, scholar and gentleman lives on in the scientific community
The fallen idol The Spanish geneticist Francisco J. Ayala [1] , an American national, was one of the most renowned scientists in the United States in recent times. His name was attached to the University of [...]
A novel experiment in mice allows the creation of two-parent offspring using male eggs
One study provides information that could be used to treat infertility caused by autosomal or chromosomal sex disorders, but also opens up the possibility of bipaternal reproduction, between two males, in humans. A Japanese research [...]
The controversial stance of Peter Singer on the value of human life, recognized with an award
Peter Singer has been awarded the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Humanities and Social Sciences [shared with Steven Pinker] for "innovative academic contributions in the spheres of rationality and the moral domain" as [...]
Norwegian Healthcare Investigation Board calls for more scientific evidence on transgender treatments
Norway has gone from having 4 requests a year from people who wanted to undergo gender transition treatment, between 1975 and 1990, to having between 400 and 600 patients a year, between the years 2018-2021. [...]
Worrying decline in the creativity of science
Quantifying creativity in research work Society has accepted that revolutionary scientific advances and innovation are the engine of prosperity and, as a result, research spending has grown over the years. In the United States, funding [...]
Genes are not the only way to pass down traits from generation to generation
From the color of our eyes to our odds of developing cancer, we are all shaped by the genetic legacy of our ancestors. But a new study in mice provides the clearest evidence yet that [...]
An NGO promotes abortion at home through explanatory videos
The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has published a series of online videos explaining how to use abortion pills at home in pregnancies up to 13 weeks gestation. These videos were created by the NGO [...]
Nuclear fusion: Clean, abundant and cheap energy
The energy of the stars Replicating the way in which the stars and our sun produce energy is a goal that has been pursued for 70 years, but which has proven elusive to the scientific [...]
Is it reasonable to believe in God?
Pope Benedict XVI's homily at Regensburg On 12 September 2006, on the occasion of a Eucharistic Celebration in Regensburg (Germany), Pope Benedict XVI gave a beautiful and thought-provoking homily that we would like to comment [...]
Can bioethical objections be raised to the use of CRISPR to repair infarcted hearts?
On January 13, the prestigious journal Science, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, published an article by researchers from the Universities of Texas (U.S.A.) and Regensburg (Germany), led by Prof. Eric Olson, [...]
The slippery slope of euthanasia in Canada
Governments that promote euthanasia do so with the utmost commitment to preserve respect for the freedom and autonomy of their citizens and with the sole intention of providing solutions to a life of “suffering due [...]
The “zero-COVID” experiment: radical lockdown
The “zero-COVID” policies implemented by the Chinese government and other countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, mainly consisted of an attempt to completely eliminate outbreaks, establishing strict border controls and extreme containment measures [...]
Is the use of artificial embryos ethical?
Artificial embryos, also called embryoids, embryonic models or blastoids, are cell agglomerates obtained from stem cells that reflect, to a certain extent, some structures and functions of embryos. In order to be able to study [...]
Seattle public schools have sued several social networks for causing mental health problems in young people
According to BusinessInsider, Seattle school boards have blamed some social networks like Meta, TikTok, Google and Snapchat for manipulating and abusing the vulnerable brains of young people, «hooking tens of millions of students across the [...]
A designer baby cures her sister of a hereditary disease
The genetic selection technique carried out presents ethical and technical difficulties, so other ethically acceptable alternatives should be sought. For the first time in Spain, a girl with sickle cell disease has been successfully treated [...]
Sexually transmitted infections: an alarming public health problem
Sexually transmitted infections in Spain According to the latest available data, in 2019, more than 36,000 diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) subject to epidemiological surveillance were reported, with an increase observed in all STIs [...]
Human rights, artificial intelligence and neurolaw. From Karel Vašák to human rights 4.0
INTRODUCTION Pérez Luño (2010, p. 50) defines human rights as “a set of faculties and institutions that, in each historical moment, specify the demands of dignity, freedom and equality, which must be positively recognized by [...]
Results of gender transition treatments: reassuring or disturbing?
On October 21, 2022, the scientific journal The Lancet published an article regarding the research carried out by Dutch researchers. It analyzed the progression in gender transition treatments in those who were administered puberty-blocking drugs [...]