Biomedical Regulations & Ethics
Civilization inflection point? China posed to pass US as world leader in biotechnology
China is edging forward as a world leader in the biotech sector, one expert said. “Biotechnologies, including synthetic biology, are ...
COVID-19 undercount: CDC now says as many as 24 times more people in the US infected
[A] study, published [July 21] in JAMA Internal Medicine [determined that the true number of U.S. coronavirus cases could be ...
Three vaccines show the most promise in stimulating immune responses
Vaccines being developed by University of Oxford researchers and AstraZeneca; Pfizer and German partner BioNTech; and China’s CanSino Biologics all ...
Artificial consent: Unproven AI making key decisions about patients health care without their knowledge
At a growing number of prominent hospitals and clinics around the country, clinicians are turning to AI-powered decision support tools ...
‘Desperation is not a strategy’: Slew of low quality studies clouds picture of how to confront COVID-19
Desperate to solve the deadly conundrum of COVID-19, the world is clamoring for fast answers and solutions from a research ...
Geopolitics of the future: AI autonomous fighting robots could spark a news arms race
Abishur Prakash, geopolitical futurist for the Center for Innovating the Future, discussed the potential scenarios that could unfold in the ...
Anti-vax activists exploit dark history of Tuskegee syphilis study to stir Black opposition to COVID-19 vaccines
[There’s] a remarkable new alliance between the anti-vaccine movement and black leaders in Colorado. Among those who testified against [a ...
In over 10,000 sessions, secret supervised opioid injection site hasn’t had a single death or hospitalization
Operators of the supervised injection site say that over the course of five years, 10,514 injections and 33 opioid-involved overdoses, ...
‘It’s not premature to plan’: Deciding who gets the coronavirus vaccine first
The new coronavirus’ disproportionate toll on the elderly could put them at the front of the line [for a vaccine] ...
Probiotics can’t help with most gastrointestinal issues, new guidelines say
If the gastrointestinal tract is a rainforest, then can oral doses of “good” bacteria provide meaningful health benefits? … The ...
Kremlin-backed Russian hacker spies tried to steal vaccine research
The UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said [hackers targeting coronavirus vaccine information] "almost certainly" operated as "part of Russian ...
Coronavirus sharply disrupting global vaccinations, including HPV, diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis
The World Health Organization and UNICEF warned [July 15] of an alarming decline in the number of children receiving life-saving ...
Activists push for magic mushroom decriminalization in DC
[July 8,] activists presented more than 36,000 signatures to the [Washington DC] Board of Elections. If the signatures hold up ...
Why worldwide HIV funding is taking a nosedive
As the novel coronavirus continues to squeeze government budgets, experts note there are more questions and uncertainties on the future ...
Viewpoint: Telescoping coronavirus vaccine testing and approval timelines exposes all of us to unnecessary dangers
We all hope for a rapid end to the pandemic and an effective vaccine would be a surefire solution. But ...
Forced sterilizations in the US? It happened in California until 2013
Filmed over seven years, Erika Cohn’s Belly of the Beast exposes state-sanctioned sterilizations in California prisons through the story of ...
Vaccine race accelerates, as Moderna-NIH partnership drug induces immune responses in all Phase 1 volunteers
[E]arly results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on [July 14], showed that [Moderna’s COVID-19] vaccine worked to ...
Trump administration pushing FDA to re-authorize hydroxychloroquine based on recent questionable study
[Trade advisor Peter Navarro is pushing for] a second emergency authorization for the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19, the ...
Teaching AI to think ethically
[M]athematicians have developed a model that can help businesses spot when commercial AI systems might make shady choices in the ...
Crisis on the horizon? Nothing limits virus vaccine makers from charging exorbitant fees
[A] Covid-19 vaccine will have an actual price tag. And given the prevailing business-centric model of American drug pricing, it ...
Homeopathic remedies are just water – so how did this sex-enhancing ‘treatment’ get peer reviewed and published?
Chu et al. studied the effectiveness of a compound called Impaza, which they hoped would enhance erectile function in male ...
Viewpoint: Should autism be treated as an illness that should be cured?
“Many of the greatest artists, actors, musicians, scientists, and entrepreneurs of all time were and are autistic. We all serve ...
FDA shuts down sales of homeopathic shots containing toxic lead, mercury, strychnine
[The FDA cracked down] on four homeopathic companies selling injectable products said to contain highly toxic substances, including lead, mercury, ...
Podcast: Beepocalypse debunked; Ban CRISPR babies? Anti-science views slow COVID-19 herd immunity
Some experts are calling for a ban on embryo gene editing after a "disaster" experiment resulted in potentially dangerous and ...
American teens lose access to mental health care at 18 – with disastrous results
Age 18 is a particularly difficult time for a person to drop out of — or lose access to — ...
Viewpoint: Anti-vax extremists bully public health officials. We can’t let them win
Since mid-April, 27 state and local health leaders across 13 states have resigned, retired, or been fired, some citing threats ...
‘They let us down’: Botched COVID-19 response seriously shakes public confidence in the CDC
The C.D.C., long considered the world’s premier health agency, made early testing mistakes that contributed to a cascade of problems ...
FDA won’t approve a coronavirus vaccine unless there is ‘clearly demonstrated proof’ it’s effective
[A coronavirus vaccine must] be at least 50% more effective than a placebo in preventing the disease [to be FDA ...
