When do politicians lose the right to medical privacy? For Israelis, this is hardly a theoretical question. When Prime Minister Ariel Sharon collapsed with a stroke in January, the nation was almost paralysed while he lay unconscious. A senior neurologist at Hadassah-University Medical Center in Jerusalem, Professor Avi Reches, contended at a recent seminar that the public's right to know about a leader's health is more important than his or her right to privacy. He proposed that a statutory body of physicians should be created to decide if a prime minister is capable of continuing at the tiller.
How doctors dealt with another PM was the centre of different debate. Dr Ofer Grosbard, a clinical psychologist, has just written a book alleging that the late Menachem Begin suffered from manic depression. He criticised Begin's colleagues for failing to disclose his weakness even though it had impaired his ability to do his job.
Therapeutic cloning will only succeed if scientists can source all the eggs they need to create cloned embryos. Since egg retrieval is uncomfortable, at best, and dangerous, at worst, few women are likely to volunteer. Nor is there a market in eggs, for in most countries selling eggs for research is banned. However there are alternatives. Rabbit or cow eggs are the solutions most often mentioned, but philosopher Heidi Mertes, of Ghent University in Belgium, has identified a few others in a recent issue of BioNews.
She says that "Depending on the kind of research, oocytes retrieved from surgically removed ovaries, cadavers, animals, aborted foetuses or even embryonic stem cells could be used." As IVF clinics improve their ability to mature women's eggs, the possibilities expand. Israeli researchers have already looked into the option of extracting egg follicles from aborted foetuses (BioEdge 82), leading to the possibility that a girl could become a mother without ever having been born.
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Australia could possibly legalise therapeutic cloning, after Federal cabinet was roundly criticised for recommending that a national ban be extended. Health Minister Tony Abbott reportedly feels that there have been no scientific breakthroughs which warrant lifting the ban. Nonetheless, Prime Minister John Howard softened under pressure after the premiers of the states of Victoria and Queensland threatened to break ranks on the issue. They believe that therapeutic cloning and the burgeoning field of stem cell research will be a bonanza for their local economies. Now Mr Howard promises to discuss the ban at a conference with the states later this month and with his Parliamentary colleagues in August.
Mr Howard tends to be a conservative on social issues, but he has no firm beliefs on stem cell research and could be swayed either way. The easiest solution would be to adopt the permissive recommendations of a committee appointed by Federal Parliament. Its acting head, law professor Loan Skene, complains that…
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Researchers at the University of Milan claim to have created embryonic stem cells without embryos, leading to hopes that they can be created "ethically". Their solution is to extract stem cells from parthenotes, embryo-like structures which develop without fertilisation. In humans, these can never develop into true embryos, but they can survive long enough to yield stem cells. The process is unlikely to quench the demand for conventional ESCs. But it could be useful in countries with restrictions on embryo research, such as the US. Australian researcher Alan Trounson said that it was exciting news, but that more work was needed to prove that they were actually ESCs, as they did not display all characteristics as expected.
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Paralysed rats treated with a cocktail of embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells, proteins and drugs have recovered some movement, say researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Lead researcher Dr Douglas Kerr says that the work is a big step forward towards a cure for spinal cord injury and other kinds of paralysis; clinical trials might be possible within five years. He said the big limitation was lack of federal funding -- hundreds of millions will be needed to bring the development through to clinical trials.
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With IVF specialists hot in pursuit of genes for dread diseases so that they can filter out defective embryos, the latest issue of Science brings intriguing news. According to political scientist (not a geneticist) Donald R. Kinder, of the University of Michigan, kids may be hard-wired to be Republican or Democrats.
Until quite recently, the assumption that political beliefs are acquired through experience has been taken as an article of faith," writes Dr Kinder. "Rapid developments in human behavioural genetics have made this stance increasingly difficult to maintain." Statistical studies of the politics of twins indicated that adult political beliefs on issues like the death penalty or school prayer have a sizeable genetic component".
On matters of politics, parents may influence their biological offspring as much through the 'genetic blueprint' they provide at conception as through the modelling and instruction they provide later on." Does this suggest that parents could sift out embryos with defective views on the death penalty?…
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This (Northern) summer could bring a debate on stem cell research in the US Congress. Senate majority leader Bill Frist says that he plans to schedule debate on three separate bills involving stem cell research. Opposing sides have already held rival news conferences to boost the troops. At a news conference this week, the leading opponent of cloning in the Senate, Senator Sam Brownback, of Kansas, highlighted the 70th peer-reviewed publication showing medical success from adult stem cells or stem cells from cord blood.
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DIGNITAS: Four Australians have apparently journeyed to Switzerland to die at the Dignitas assisted suicide clinic in Zurich. This news emerged after euthanasia activist Dr Philip Nitschke announced that the latest victim was a 93-year-old woman from Adelaide who had chronic pain but was not in danger of death.
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The locked door to transforming one type of cell into another may have opened a crack. In a development which could have manifold ethical, political and scientific implications, Austin Smith of the University of Edinburgh says in Nature that he has identified a gene which directs cell development. The discovery could eventually make it unnecessary to destroy embryos for their stem cells. "Until a couple of years ago I thought the idea of reprogramming was ridiculous because we had no scientific idea of how to achieve," says Smith. But after experiments with mouse embryos, he has changed his mind. It looks really encouraging. We could find a way to do this," he says.
The key gene in the process of cell transformation is called nanog. This appears to be the most important amongst a handful of reprogramming genes, although other proteins are also essential. If these new developments are verified, they could lead to the Holy Grail of regenerative…
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Stem cell expert Hwang Woo-suk and five other scientists who allegedly faked stem cell research went on trial this week in Seoul. They have been charged with fraud, embezzlement of US$3 million in public funds and breach of South Korea's bioethics laws. Hwang has denied the charges. "I was not involved in the process; I only received results," Professor Hwang told the court about his sensational articles on human cloning. If the accusations of falsified research were true, he said, that would mean that "my whole research team conspired to deceive me, but I still don't believe this is the case". Once hailed by the government and others as "the pride of Korea", Hwang could face several years in jail if he is found guilty.
