Posted in ...and everything else, Bioethics on January 29th, 2013 No Comments »
This morning’s sensationalist headlines are claiming that new research, published in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, says that how we lose our virginity will shape our entire sex life. For more than one of us, I’m sure, that’s the kind of headline that makes eyebrows climb and perhaps a slight whispered “oh, god, [...]
Posted in Bioethics, Philosophy on January 15th, 2013 No Comments »
I spent much of the fall grumbling – mostly good-naturedly – about editing a dissertation on the dual-use dilemma in the life sciences. I fell into editing the project rather late,1 which led to some memorable crankiness on my part (I actually sent back one chapter with “no” and “rewrite”), and sleep turned into a [...]
Posted in ...and everything else, Academics, Bioethics, Duct Tape and Prayers, life and living on January 3rd, 2013 1 Comment »
In my religious tradition, the end of the year is a time for reflection and contemplation; what happened over the course of the year, how will it influence your upcoming year, what lessons did you learn, how will those be implemented, and so on. It’s generally a relatively quiet thing – and yes, should be [...]
Posted in ...and everything else, Bioethics on December 13th, 2012 No Comments »
Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the World Stem Cell Summit, and as is habit when I attend conferences, I tweeted my reactions to various panels I attended. Alexey Bersenev asked if I would elaborate on my rather frustrated tweeting from the panel on “The Role of States in Regulating Stem Cell Therapies,” [...]
Posted in Bioethics on November 14th, 2012 1 Comment »
A severely ill woman is admitted to the hospital. Doctors assess that without an abortion, she will die. Oh, you think this is about Savita Halappanavar, don’t you? Well, it is and it isn’t. Savita Halappanavar is a horrific story making the rounds now; a young woman admitted to an Irish hospital was suffering a [...]