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Hundreds of genes would reactivate after death
An “unsettling” study “revealed that many genes are still active several days after a person dies”. Led by Peter Noble and Alex Pozhitkov from Washington and Seattle universities, the results of their work are in “pre-publication”, awaiting revision. These...
Surrogacy: a commercial fair organised in Brussels
The American association, Men Having Babies, is organising a second “commercial fair” at the end of September to promote surrogacy in Brussels. The Internet site has announced that, this year, the event will be bigger and better given the “high demand” witnessed...
Great Britain: doctors continue to oppose assisted suicide
Members of the British Medical Association (BMA)[1] have clung steadfastly to their refusal to practice assisted suicide. They had to make an announcement on 21 June following a motion suggesting that the BMA “should adopt a neutral position in relation...
Zika: a vaccine under test and studies underway
After “promising” preclinical tests in animals, Inovio Pharmaceuticals etGeneOne Life Science laboratories are launching a clinical trial in humans “to assess an anti-Zika vaccine”. This preventive vaccine “known a GLS-5700 will be tested on 40 healthy...
“Murder legalised in Canada”
Following legalisation of medically assisted dying in Canada, Catholic Bishops announced that “Murder has been legalised in Canada”. They are afraid of “abuse, slippery slopes and the risk of extending the law, as seen in other countries following the legalisation of...
Surrogacy: Women and children used as raw materials for the tax-free transfer of their genetic make-up
More and more “Chinese executives” are turning towards Japanese surrogate mothers and away from the American market which, “until now has guaranteed ‘protected’ American nationality for one of the children in the family with the option of that child applying for and...
Surrogacy at the Council of Europe: the Commission suspends the procedure
The European Council’s Commission for Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development has opted to “suspend examination of the draft report in favour of surrogacy presented by Petra de Sutter”. This report should have been examined and voted on between 21 and 22...
CRISPR-Cas9 – the first human clinical trial authorised in the United States
On 21 June, the Advisory Committee of the American National Institute for Health (NIH) approved the first gene therapy clinical trial in humans using CRISPR-cas9 to conduct research into anti-cancer treatment. Anti-cancer cell therapies are promising but most...
Uterus transplant: a woman is pregnant with her second child
“One of the first women to undergo a uterine transplant is expecting her second child,” announced Professor Mats Brannstrom during the annual conference of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in Birmingham. Great Britain is following in Sweden’s...
iPS cells: study provides therapeutic avenue for a serious disease
Doctor Nissan’s team at the Institut des cellules souches I-Stem (Evry) (I-Stem Stem Cell Institute) has discovered “a new group pf potential medicinal products to treat Progeria as well as cancers, thanks to iPS stem cells”. Progeria is a rare genetic...
Belgium: nurses can refuse to “prepare patients” for euthanasia
In Belgium, “only doctors can practice euthanasia”. However, “to gain time or out of habit”, some doctors prefer to “ask nurses” to “prepare a patient for lethal injection”. For instance, this involves setting up an infusion or any other type of “preparatory” or...
Medically assisted dying: Canada – law C-14 came into force on Friday
In Canada, draft law C-14, which authorises and “provides a framework for” medically assisted dying, was adopted by senators on Friday by 44 votes to 28. A few hours later, “law C-14 was given the royal seal of approval and officially came into force.” Medically...