blog.bioethics.net - the editors' blog of The American Journal of Bioethics

The November Issue of AJOB Is Now Online!

2009-11-06T14:44:25Z

With H1N1 and flu vaccines on everyone's minds, the November issue of The American Journal of Bioethics couldn't be more timely. What do people think about the measures necessary to protect ourselves from flu? Do we, or more importantly should...

Q & A on What is a Blockbuster Anti-Wrinkle Cream Worth, Morally Speaking Or How Many Fetuses Does It Take To Make a Great Cosmeceutical

2009-11-02T12:38:21Z

Question: What is it worth to produce a blockbuster anti-wrinkle cream? Hypothetical Answer from Cosmeceutical Company: A single skin biopsy of a 14-week old voluntarily aborted fetus from a minor with consent from her parents. Question: What is it worth...

Bioethics Needs More Than Number Crunchers, says Caplan

2009-10-23T16:56:24Z

Even as one trained in said number or data or fact crunching--whether you want to call us social scientists or empirical bioethicists or what have you--I do not take issue with Caplan's essential view--bioethics needs more than just facts to...

Should Hwang Do Time in the Big House?

2009-10-21T17:12:25Z

For the disgrace and shame he placed upon stem cell research in South Korea and for many stem cell research more generally, he should do some time in the slammer. Or at least that's my view. But Nature.com tells us...

Is Nanotechnology the Key to Happiness?

2009-10-14T19:18:10Z

Nanotechnology has been called a great many things--the great leveler, the panacea to all that ails the world, the technology that will allow us to solve all of our problems from world hunger to pollution. But this month, at nanotechnow.com,...

Yes, Today. Snowe, Tomorrow?

2009-10-13T18:08:48Z

According to the WSJ Health Blog, Senator Olympia Snowe of Washington State is making no promises as to whether she will continue to back the Senate Finance bill for health care reform. Why does this matter? For any one who...

Yes, Today. Snowe, Tomorrow?

2009-10-13T18:08:48Z

In New York, You Get the Shot Or Walk the Plank

2009-10-08T16:00:05Z

As Art Caplan's most recent MSNBC column explains, New York is taking a hard line on health care workers getting their flu vaccinations this year. It's quite simple: get the shot or lose your job. Health care workers rallied in...

"Academic Doping" is Just Plain Dumb (as Something to Fear)

2009-10-08T11:50:18Z

The first media story I read about Dr. Vincent Cakic's Journal of Medical Ethics paper about the ethical concerns about academic doping I was able to shrug off as just one more enhancement story. But after reading the 5th or...

The AJOB Family of Journals Grows by Two!

2009-10-07T19:25:39Z

Today, now available at editorial.bioethics.net, are The American Journal of Bioethics' new sibling journals, AJOB Neuroscience and AJOB Primary Research. These latest additions to the AJOB family will begin publishing in 2010 and each have 4 issues per year of...

Stay Up-to-Date about H1N1 at pandemic.bioethics.net

2009-10-06T16:07:06Z

WIth the launch this week of the national vaccination program for swine flu, debate is raging over whether children should be vaccinated, who should be first in line to receive the vaccine, and whether the program in general will be...

Nonsense. It's Good For You.

2009-10-06T15:48:24Z

Who knew that "The Ministry of Silly Walks" and other such absurdities could actually strengthen our brains? Yes, it's true. Nonsense is good for your noggin. But it isn't just the absurd, but the out of place, the "something that...

Slapping Docs' Hands for Not Washing Them

2009-10-05T12:30:46Z

That's the recommendation from the master of medical checklists Peter Pronovost of Johns Hopkins University and Robert Wachter of University of California at San Francisco, says the WSJ Health Blog. Lack of accountability is the reason why a whole range...

Right to Reform says Caplan

2009-10-05T11:26:42Z

Published last week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Art Caplan discusses the "right to reform". What does this quite simple sounding phrase mean? Well, those three words say a lot more than one might guess at first glance. In...

Doc Goes "Up in Smoke" for Selling and Partaking in Medical Marijuana with "Patients"

2009-09-30T13:19:02Z

Imagine, if you can, walking into your doctor's office, jumping up onto the paper lined table and the following dialogue occuring: DOCTOR: "[Coughing] Whew. That's Kush stuff. That's OG Kush. Whew, that's some great potent herb. It's just good to...