News on ethics in medicine and biotechnology: October 2003US-Led Drive for Broad UN Cloning Ban FaltersA U.S.-led drive for a broad global ban on all forms of human cloning, including scientific research on stem cells, faltered on Thursday as diplomats scrambled to avoid a messy battle over the issue. 30 October 2003, Reuters (Submitted by SIBLE, UK) Spain's GM controls attackedEnvironmental groups in Spain have criticized the government for expanding the production of genetically modified (GM) crops without carefully controlling and monitoring their impact on the environment. Spain is currently the only country in the European Union that allows GM crops to be grown on a commercial scale. Also, Spain imports millions of tons of corn and soy from countries that grow large-scale GM crops. 30 October 2003, The Scientist (Submitted by SIBLE, UK) More Britons Turn to Self-DiagnosisMore Britons are opting for self-diagnosis and turning their backs
on doctors, the market research company Mintel reported on Wednesday.
(Submitted by SIBLE, UK) Danes begin stem cell workThe first scientists in Denmark given permission to use embryonic stem cells for research purposes have begun work on degenerative neurological diseases such as Parkinson and Alzheimer. 28 October 2003, The Scientist (Submitted by SIBLE, UK) Spanish stem cell battleOne of Spain's 17 autonomous regions clashed head-on with the national government last week by announcing plans to set up and run its own public bank of human embryonic stem cell lines. The announcement by Francisco Vallejo Serrano, head of the Health Department of the Andalusian government, triggered a direct conflict with a law approved by the Spanish Parliament on October 16 that foresees a national bank to manage and store cell lines derived from embryos left over from fertility treatments. 27 October 2003, The Scientist (Submitted by SIBLE, UK) Paper: WHO to Endorse Triple-Dose AIDS DrugsThe World Health Organization will endorse controversial generic triple-dose AIDS drugs next week, the Washington Post reported on Saturday. 25 October 2003, Reuters (Submitted by SIBLE, UK)
Euro MPs Seek EU Ban on Buying, Selling OrgansEuropean Union lawmakers Thursday called on member states to bar wealthy EU citizens from buying organs from poor donors outside the bloc -- a trade dubbed "transplant tourism." 23 October 2003, Reuters (Submitted by SIBLE, UK) Open access EuropeRepresentatives of major European research institutes meeting in Berlin on Wednesday (October 22) issued a declaration in support of open-access publishing of scientific and scholarly research. 22 October 2003, The Scientist (Submitted by SIBLE, UK) German cloning clashGermany's major opposition political party and medical groups are accusing the Foreign Ministry of ignoring the will of Parliament for failing to publicly push for a UN global treaty to ban both human reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning for research for medical research. 21 October 2003, The Scientist (Submitted by SIBLE, UK) UK science tied-up in red tapeMembers of Britain's House of Lords committee on the use of animals in scientific procedures have slammed the government for not acting fast enough to reduce the bureaucracy currently constraining scientists in the United Kingdom. In a highly critical debate in the House of Lords last Friday (October 17) the committee's chair accused the government of reacting with “complacency” to its inquiry. 21 October 2003, The Scientist (Submitted by SIBLE, UK) News related to the British GM crop farm-scale trial reportThe farm scale trials were the largest and most thorough of their kind in the world. Scientists had never previously been able to observe how changing farm practices are affecting wildlife across the country. They cost £5m and lasted four years. The trials were designed to test whether weeds and insects fared better in fields of conventional crops or crops which had been genetically altered to be resistant to a single herbicide. Find a list of related news coverage below:
(Submitted by SIBLE, UK) Ethics of Separating TwinsWhat are the ethical difficulties facing those who have to decide whether to operate in the case of conjoined twins? 13 October 2003, BBC Online 'Flawed GM tests must start over'Test results expected to lead to the commercial production of genetically modified maize in the UK are invalid, says the former minister who set them up. 12 October 2003, BBC Online Split on research blocks UN cloning banEfforts to draw up a global treaty to ban human cloning have collapsed after countries failed to agree on whether such a ban should exempt 'therapeutic cloning' – the creation of cloned embryos to obtain stem cells for research. 8 October 2003, SciDev.net Insurers 'would not cover' GM farmersThe likelihood that genetically-modified crops will ever be farmed in the UK was today greatly reduced after it emerged that farmers may not be able to obtain insurance cover for the potential risks of GM farming. 7 October 2003, The Guardian (Submitted by SIBLE, UK) Germany backs rival analysis of GM safety in AfricaThe German government is planning to approve a €2 million grant to help African nations develop regulations requiring genetically modified (GM) crops to be shown to be safe for human health and the environment before allowing them on the market. 7 October 2003, SciDev.net (Submitted by SIBLE, UK) Male contraceptive trial has 100% successA male contraceptive treatment has achieved a 100 per cent success rate in trials involving 55 couples, Australian scientists have reported. The treatment was fully reversible and the men suffered no undesirable side-effects. 6 October 2003, New Scientist (Submitted by SIBLE, UK) GM crops fail key trials amid environment fearTwo of the three GM crops grown experimentally in Britain, oil seed rape and sugar beet, appear more harmful to the environment than conventional crops and should not be grown in the UK, scientists are expected to tell the government. 2 October 2003, The Guardian (UK) Also See: BBC News Online, 2 October 2003 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3158632.stm) (Submitted by SIBLE, UK) Women lose embryo battleTwo women have lost their High Court battle to use their frozen embryos against the will of their former partners. 1 October, BBC Online (UK) (Submitted by SIBLE, UK) |
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