Quandary
Third World Bioethics
By Michael Cook
Poverty overcomes informed consent in India, where nearly 2900 people died in India during clinical trials of drugs between 2005 and 2012.
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The Secret of Morality
By Michael Cook
Does thinking about science improve morality?
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The Dark Background to Immortal Cells
By Michael Cook
The origins of human cell lines used in some of the world’s greatest medical discoveries have been called into question.
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Genetic Privacy at Risk
By Michael Cook
US intelligence agencies may be analysing our communications on a massive scale, but genetic data is already proving just as vulnerable.
Michael Cook is editor of BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter.
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A Retrospective of the Stem Cell Debate
By Michael Cook
Ten years ago embryonic stem cells were set to transform medicine. Ethics took a back seat to science, but the cures never came.
Michael Cook is editor of the bioethics newsletter BioEdge.
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Déjà Vu All Over Again
By Michael Cook
In vitro eugenics could soon make Huxley’s Brave New World a reality.
Michael Cook is editor of the bioethics newsletter BioEdge.
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Genetic Ancestry
By Michael Cook
The thriving business of DNA ancestry testing is hawking dreams, not science.
Michael Cook is editor of the online bioethics newsletter BioEdge.
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Care in Ancient Societies
By Michael Cook
Archaeologists are documenting evidence that ancient humans cared for disabled members of their community.
Michael Cook is editor of the bioethics newsletter BioEdge.
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No Joy for Addicts
By Michael Cook
Neurosurgeons in China are treating drug addicts by destroying a part of the brain responsible for feeling pleasure.
Chinese neurosurgeons are treating heroin addicts by destroying a region of the brain which feels pleasure. Time magazine reports that this “risks permanently ending the entire spectrum of natural longings and emotions, including the ability to feel joy.”
Even in China, zapping bits of the brain is controversial. The Ministry of Health banned it in 2004 – but left a loophole for researchers. Apparently one surgeon drove a truck through this loophole and by 2007 he had done 1000 of these operations to treat severe depression, epilepsy and schizophrenia.
The New Eugenics
By Michael Cook
In the last century eugenics involved sterilisation or murder. This century it is more likely to involve genetic enhancement.
Michael Cook is editor of BioEdge, an online bioethics newsletter.
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