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United States: Zion, who has had two hand transplants, can write
Zion Harvey had his hands and feet amputated and his kidneys removed as a young child following septicaemia. He had already undergone a kidney transplant several years ago and was taking anti-rejection medication. Then, in July 2015, at the age of 8, he had two hand...
Chile: The Senate approves the legalisation of abortion in three specific cases
In Chile, following the approval of MPs on 17 March 2016 and initial validation by the Senate on 25 January 2017, the draft bill decriminalising abortion in three instances, namely rape, foetal malformation and risk to the mother's health (see Chile authorises...
Heredity factors is more than the sum of our genes
"Whereas genetics is the study of genes, epigenetics refers to a "layer" of additional information, which defines how these genes will or won't be used by a cell. In other words, epigenetics refers to the study of changes in gene activity that do not change the...
Assisted suicide legislation passed in Columbia, in the USA but Congress wish to rescind the law
Assisted suicide legislation came into force on Monday, 17 July 2017, in the US District of Columbia. Patients over the age of 18 with up to 6 months to life can now obtain a prescription for lethal drugs if their case is approved by two doctors. District of...
An “ethical black box” urgently required for robots
Robots are gradually entering the public domain and are increasingly interacting with humans. With regard to ethical questions, university lecturers are advocating a "black box" for robots, like the ones on aeroplanes, in an attempt to monitor and explain the...
California: 20,000 GMO mosquitoes about to be released to combat viruses
In Fresno, California, 20,000 genetically modified mosquitoes are about to be released in an attempt to reduce or even eradicate one species, namely Aedes aegypti, a carrier of numerous viruses such as the Zika virus, yellow fever, Dengue fever or...
United Kingdom: 50% of women who had an abortion were using contraception
According to a recent study conducted by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, over 50% of women who had an abortion in the United Kingdom were using contraception. The British Pregnancy Advisory Service interviewed approximately 40,000 women...
Chile: the process to decriminalise abortion is delayed
In Chile, the draft bill to decriminalise abortion in three instances, namely rape, foetal malformation and risk to the mother's health, was validated by the Senate in a second vote on 19 July 2017. The bill has yet to be approved by the Chamber of Deputies before...
Precariousness, family situation, contraception… risk factors for abortion
At the European seminar which took place in Brussels at the COMECE on last 22nd June on “Preventing Abortion in Europe”, Cherline Louissaint, lawyer, went over the risk factors for abortion : social precariousness, family instability, but also the false ideas...
Poland: a hundred deputies lodge a suit before the Constitutional Court to dispute the exceptions to abortion
At the end of last June, about a hundred Polish deputies from various political groups filed a suit before the Constitutional Court asking it to adjudicate over the law that authorises abortion in the case of a serious disability or incurable disease that threatens...
Does MAP increase the risk of chromosomal anomalies?
Following hormonal ovarian stimulation and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), the risk of embryo chromosomal anomalies sometimes exceeds 50%. Regardless of other medical reasons, some of these anomalies appear to be due to the type of treatment used to "produce" the...
The chances for a couple to have a baby diminish with the age of the male partner
It's not only women who worry about their biological clock. A recent study [1] presented last Tuesday at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference in Geneva (Switzerland), revealed that the chances for couples to have a baby diminish...