Australasian Science: Australia's authority on science since 1938
Quandary
Quandary column
The Wild West of Biotech Innovation
By Ainsley Newson & Wendy Lipworth
The failure of a US$9 billion health technology start-up provides a stark example of how venture capitalists can let market potential overrule evidence of efficacy.
Recently, we avidly listened to a podcast from ABC Radio America called The Dropout. This five-part series followed the rise and fall of Theranos, a Silicon Valley health start-up that folded in 2018.
Theranos (a combination of “therapy” and “diagnosis”) was founded in 2003 by Stanford University drop-out Elizabeth Holmes. She had been inspired by the possibility that microfluidics technology could lead to “near-patient” blood testing conducted in pharmacies, supermarkets or even a patient’s home.
Antibiotics: Which Lives Matter?
By Angus Dawson
Resistance to antibiotics is growing. Are you prepared to go without them to save the lives of future generations?
To view this article subscribe or purchase a yearly pass here.
Should Scientists Declare Non-Financial Conflicts of Interest?
By Miriam Wiersma and Wendy Lipworth
Conflicts of interest are rife in scientific research, but non-financial conflicts of interest are often overlooked.
When the term “conflict of interest” arises in scientific research, often the first thing that springs to mind is the use of financial incentives by industry to unduly influence researchers.
Molecular Life Extension
By Cynthia Forlini and Ainsley Newson
Alongside the question of whether we can treat ageing is the question of whether we should.
It is a universal certainty that we will all die one day. And we have a near-universal goal for our deaths to come painlessly after a long and full life.
Of course illness, disease and accident can cut life short. For many of us, however, our deaths will come as a result of growing old and our bodies gradually failing us.
But should we accept this biological status quo as the basis of our lives? Or is ageing something to rail against and try to defeat?
Is Cognitive Enhancement a Problem in Australia?
Credit: Sangoiri/Adobe
By Cynthia Forlini
Just because the non-medical use of cognitive stimulants isn’t common, it doesn’t mean it isn’t a problem.
To view this article subscribe or purchase a yearly pass here.
The Unspoken Limits of Liquid Biopsies
By Ainsley Newson
Liquid biopsies promise early detection of cancer, but some of their current limitations risk being overlooked.
Ethical Challenges About Voluntary Assisted Dying
By Ian Haines
Much of the focus on new voluntary assisted dying laws is centred on patient autonomy, but it is only one of the four pillars. Does the legislation also satisfy the other three tenets of beneficence, non-maleficence and justice?
Will voluntary assisted dying (VAD) legislation provide compassionate physician-assisted dying, as hoped, or are we providing state-sanctioned euthanasia and assisted suicide? It certainly raises some important ethical questions.
Many of the submissions in Victoria were about tragic cases of desperate and suffering people with incurable illness who had taken or attempted to take their lives in sometimes very horrific circumstances. There was also a focus on high-profile celebrities and politicians who had watched on feeling helpless as a loved one suffered and died.
The Man with the DNR Tattoo
By Michael Cook
Should doctors follow the instructions of a tattoo when facing end-of-life decisions?
Doctors at a Florida hospital’s emergency department were startled to discover the words “DO NOT RESUSCITATE” tattooed on an unconscious man’s chest. The word “not” was underlined. Beneath this imperative was his signature, also tattooed.
“We’ve always joked about this, but holy crap, this man actually did it,” one of the doctors who treated him said. “You look at it, laugh a little, and then go: Oh no, I actually have to deal with this.”
Get Your Head Screwed on Right
By Michael Cook
Claims of the successful transplant of a human head may have been met by derision but they also reveal bioethical blindspots among ambitious surgeons.
What can you do if you become a quadriplegic after a catastrophic injury, or if you’re getting old, weak and fat? One solution is head transplantation – once the theme of very bad science fiction films and now the theme of press conferences.
Controversial Italian neurosurgeon Dr Sergio Canavero announced to media in Vienna recently that a team from Harbin Medical University led by his colleague Dr Ren Xiaoping has carried out the world’s first head transplant experiment. (In his line of business, they call it cephalosomatic anastomosis.)
Last-Minute Complications
By Michael Cook
Botched executions provide a timely warning that assisted suicide does not necessarily lead to a peaceful death.
To view this article subscribe or purchase a yearly pass here.
