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African doctors are against euthanasia and assisted suicide
President Ogirima of the African branch of the WMA [1], has announced that "Africa rejects medically assisted suicide and euthanasia," describing them as "contrary to the medical oath", which states that "I [doctors]will not use my medical knowledge to violate...
Chinese team sequences the genome of two foetuses in utero
A team from the Beijing Genomics Institute in China has sequenced the genome of two foetuses in utero, in an attempt to detect their genetic risk for a certain number of diseases. To do this, they collected blood samples from pregnant women in which foetal cells were...
Predictive algorithms tantamount to a crystal ball?
More and more companies are investing in technology designed to help them predict the future, especially in terms of employee behaviour: productivity, interactions and even emotional states. These algorithms, which promise increased profitability, represent a soaring...
Dutch citizens automatically registered as donors
The law has just been adopted by the Dutch Parliament. From now on, all citizens over 18 years of age will be automatically included in the donor register unless they explicitly refuse tos participate. This law is aimed at increasing the number of donors. The...
Neurosciences, between progress and human rights
Although neurosciences[1] open up vast therapeutic avenues, they are not entirely risk-free and international regulation is required. The information contained in the human brain is becoming increasingly accessible with advances in neurosciences. Although they...
British man claims to be the world’s first “cyborg” – half man, half robot
Thanks to an antenna, which has been attached to his brain since 2004, Neil Harbisson, who was born with achromatopsia - a condition that has condemned him to seeing everything in black and white - can now see colours. A sensor was used to transform light waves into...
Ohio: ACLU contests the ban on abortion based on prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has taken legal action against the Ohio law adopted last December, which bans the abortion of foetuses diagnosed with Down syndrome (see OhAio: Law banning the abortion of foetuses with Down syndrome has finally been adopted)....
An anti-cancer vaccine containing iPS cells?
According to scientists at Stanford University, the injection of induced pluripotent stem cells, inactivated by irradiation, has triggered a strong response against breast, lung and skin cancers in mice. The vaccine has also prevented relapses in animals whose tumour...
Late miscarriage: heading towards the registration of babies in the United Kingdom?
The British Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, wants women who have experienced a late miscarriage to be able to register and certify their babies on official records. Currently, babies who are declared stillborn after the 24th week of pregnancy can be...
Regenerative medicine to restore fertility?
In China, a young woman gave birth to a healthy baby boy last month after undergoing human umbilical cord stem cell transplantation to restore her fertility. Three years ago, she had been diagnosed with premature ovarian insufficiency - a syndrome that affects...
Terminally ill children and parental responsibility
Alfie Evans was born in the United Kingdom and is suffering from a neurodegenerative disease. He is now in "a deep coma". The medical team looking after this small boy believes that there is no point in continuing his treatment. But his parents have started legal...
Amsterdam: Creation of a biobank of still-born and aborted foetuses
In the Netherlands, from now onwards, Amsterdam University Hospital will ask all couples who attend the hospital for an abortion whether they wish to donate their foetus for research purposes at the said institution. The establishment intends to "create a foetus...