Resource of the Month— David P. Gushee, PhD, continues his Sanctity of Life series with an essay entitled,
“The Old Testament and the Sanctity of Life.”

Podcast

Quote of the Month —

"Switzerland’s passion for the dignity of all creatures great and small, however, rings hollow in view of its treatment of human beings. It is one of the few countries in the world where assisted suicide is legal. The best-known agency for DIY euthanasia, a Zurich-based group called - what else? - Dignitas, recently opened its thanatorium in the same building as Switzerland’s biggest legal brothel. Surely that violates one of the numerous provisions in the constitution guaranteeing human dignity. As it is now, there seems to be about as much bureaucracy involved in killing a Swiss goldfish as there is in killing a human being. (Special chemicals are required since flushing fish down the toilet has been deemed undignified.)"

—Michael Cook, editor of the Internet magazine MercatorNet and the bioethics newsletter BioEdge, in "The dignity of Swiss goldfish," On Line Opinion, May 16, 2008.

Dual Uses of Biomedicine: Whose responsibility?
X Annual Swedish Symposium on Biomedicine, Ethics and Society
June 9-10, 2008
Seglarhotellet, Sandhamn
Phone: +46 18 611 22 96
E-mail: crb@crb.uu.se

2008 AUL Legal Institute
June 23-26, 2008
Moody Bible Institue
Chicago, IL
Phone: 312/492.7234

Stem Cell Research and Commercial Applications: Isolation, Expansion, Therapy, Commercialisation and Manufacturing
June 25-26, 20008
Sheraton Towers Hotel, Singapore
Email: greg.moyle@informa.com
Fax: +65 65143173

UNESCO Ethics Teacher Training Course
November 17-21, 2008
Minsk, Belarus

New type of stem cells coaxed into heart tissue
A new type of powerful stem cell made from ordinary skin cells has been coaxed into becoming three different types of heart and blood cells in mice, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday. (Reuters)

Philippines Bans Kidney Transplants for Foreigners
The Philippines is banning kidney transplants for foreigners, as part of a government crackdown on a growing but illicit trade in human organs bought from the poor, officials said Tuesday. (New York Times)

Op-Ed: Embryonic Stem Cells 2.0
When Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University reported his transformation of cultured mouse skin cells into a state approximating that of embryonic stem cells1, he was met with plenty of scepticism. Other scientists hadn’t anticipated that such a feat was possible. “Nobody else was even close to doing the same experiment,” says Richard Young of the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “That was a very special breakthrough.” (Nature)

Should storing cord blood be standard?
Public or private? That’s the controversial question being asked about a potentially life-saving practice in which cord blood — the blood collected from a newborn’s placenta and umbilical cord — is stored for future use. (Reuters)

Are Personal Genome Scans Medically Useless?
For $1,000 and up, several new companies will scan an individual’s entire genome for clues about ancestry, potential health limitations and the inheritance of traits such as lactose intolerance. Clients can compare their DNA with a celebrity’s or invite friends and family members to share genetic profiles. Despite the comprehensive reports and background data these Web-based services deliver, some observers believe the information is more recreational than relevant. (Scientific American)

Who should MDs let die in a pandemic?
Report offers answers Now, an influential group of physicians has drafted a grimly specific list of recommendations for which patients wouldn’t be treated. They include the very elderly, seriously hurt trauma victims, severely burned patients and those with severe dementia. (Boston)

Scientist team creates first GM human embryo
Scientists have created what is believed to be the first genetically modified (GM) human embryo. A team from Cornell University in New York produced the GM embryo to study how early cells and diseases develop. It was destroyed after five days. (Times Online)

Op-Ed: The Stupidity of Dignity
This spring, the President’s Council on Bioethics released a 555-page report, titled Human Dignity and Bioethics. The Council, created in 2001 by George W. Bush, is a panel of scholars charged with advising the president and exploring policy issues related to the ethics of biomedical innovation, including drugs that would enhance cognition, genetic manipulation of animals or humans, therapies that could extend the lifespan, and embryonic stem cells and so-called “therapeutic cloning” that could furnish replacements for diseased tissue and organs. Advances like these, if translated into freely undertaken treatments, could make millions of people better off and no one worse off. So what’s not to like? The advances do not raise the traditional concerns of bioethics, which focuses on potential harm and coercion of patients or research subjects. What, then, are the ethical concerns that call for a presidential council? (The New Republic)

F.D.A. Delays Clinical Trial of Embryonic Stem Cells
The Geron Corporation announced Wednesday that its plans to begin the first clinical trial using embryonic stem cells had been delayed by federal regulators. (New York Times)

MPs back creation of human-animal embryos
British scientists will be allowed to research devastating diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s using human-animal embryos, after the House of Commons rejected a ban yesterday. (Times Online)

Carbon nanotubes may be as harmful as asbestos
One of the most promising materials for the future of technology, carbon nanotubes, might be as harmful as asbestos if inhaled, according to a new study published Tuesday in the scientific journal Nature Nanotechnology. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Newborn-Blood Storage Law Stirs Fears of DNA Warehouse
An obscure bill that sailed through Congress and was signed into law last month is stoking fears of a nationwide DNA warehouse potentially open to abuse by law enforcement agencies or health insurance companies. (Wired)

Californians Against Assisted Suicide - Controversial Bill, AB 2747 Narrowly Passes Assembly
This bill would mandate that physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants give a patient, while being diagnosed with a terminal illness or with a prognosis of one year to live, information about pain management options that are fitting only for persons who are imminently dying. (Earthtimes)

Researchers develop human stem cell line containing sickle cell anemia mutation
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have established a human cell-based system for studying sickle cell anemia by reprogramming somatic cells to an embryonic stem cell like state. (PhysOrg)

Brazil court rules in favor of stem cell research
Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled Thursday that scientists can conduct embryonic stem cell research, which holds the promise of curing Parkinson’s disease and diabetes but raises ethical concerns about the limits on human life. (USA Today

Dutch claim first sequencing of female DNA
The researchers at Leiden University Medical Center say they have sequenced the DNA of one their researchers, geneticist Marjolein Kriek. They plan to publish it after review. No other scientists have verified their data. (AP)

Each week the top news stories, as determined by the staff at The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity are sent out via email.

[Note: News stories and events do not represent the Center's views. For additional commentary on many of the issues they raise, please see the CBHD web site at www.cbhd.org.]

Please visit http://www.bioethics.com for daily posts on bioethics news and issues.