A team in the U.S. is said to have safely and effectively altered human embryos. The news is a reminder that citizens must be consulted on developments potentially affecting the future of the species.
There’s still a way to go from editing single-cell embryos to a full-term ‘designer baby.’
ZEISS Microscopy
The news may have come as a surprise, but it probably shouldn’t have. A bioethics expert walks through how big a deal this announcement is – and what we should be considering now.
Supporters outside the now-abandoned case in the British High Court, rallying for infant Charlie Gard to travel to the US for experimental treatment.
Peter Nicholls/Reuters
The high-profile Charlie Gard case could change the way end-of-life decisions play out around the world.
Assisted dying legislation is likely to be introduced in Victorian Parliament within a month, and be based on a report launched today by Brian Owler and Jill Hennessy.
JOE CASTRO/AAP
Ben White, Queensland University of Technology and Lindy Willmott, Queensland University of Technology
Public opinion, shifting views in the health profession and international trends allowing assisted dying mean it will be lawful in Australia at some point. But will it be lawful in Victoria soon?
Are research nonprofits holding up their end of the tax-exempt bargain?
Will Hart
Holding patents can be a lucrative and powerful position to be in. Here’s a proposal for how nonprofit patent holders can do more for the common good – and live up to their end of the tax break bargain.
BCI devices that read minds and act on intentions can change lives for the better. But they could also be put to nefarious use in the not-too-distant future. Now’s the time to think about risks.
When resources are scarce, deciding who should be front of the queue for the flu vaccine is an ethical minefield.
from www.shutterstock.com
When we think about Google and health, we usually think about patients searching online for health information. But you may be surprised to hear that doctors Google you.
Among doctors, there seems to be broad consensus about the relevance of double effect in end-of-life care.
from shutterstock.com
Maybe you think neuroscience has a peaceable history of benign efforts to improve lives and enhance human capacities. But its origins and development tell a different story – with ethical implications.
For some medical students, learning on simulated patients isn’t enough.
from www.shutterstock.com
Medical students are practising invasive techniques on themselves and fellow students, a new study shows. But aside from obvious safety concerns, is there anything wrong with self-practice?
Cryonics has gone from the world of sci-fi movies to the law courts for the family of one 14-year-old girl.
from www.shutterstock.com
A UK court has allowed a 14-year-old girl’s body to be frozen until doctors find a cure for the cancer that killed her. Is this latest example of cryogenics hope, hype or hell?
Would you want to be operated on by a surgeon whose only anatomy training was using virtual reality?
from Shutterstock
Medical students are using virtual reality to help them learn anatomy. But is it the game changing technology some people say it is?
Parents’ role as medical decision-makers is sometimes questioned when they don’t choose the recommended treatment for their child.
from shutterstock.com
It is ethical for doctors to accept a treatment option parents want – providing it is good enough – rather than insisting on what they believe is the best possible treatment for the child.
Until 2013, laws in every Australian state and territory allowed people to be forced to have psychiatric treatment even if they competently refused it.
from shutterstock.com
Until 2013, Australian state and territory laws allowed forcing people into psychiatric treatment if it was thought necessary to protect them from serious harm – even if they competently refused it.
Bone-marrow transplants to treat leukaemia are one of the miniscule number of stem-cell treatments that have a strong evidence base.
from shutterstock.com
Australians clinics are offering stem-cell-based anti-ageing and cosmetic therapies that have not been clinically tested. Here’s what we need to do to ensure consumers don’t get ripped off, or worse.
Will China be the first to genetically enhance future generations?
Jianan Yu/Reuters
Regulations, funding and public opinion around genetically enhancing future generations vary from country to country. Here’s why China may be poised to be the pioneer.
Kidneys for donation are in short supply, via Shutterstock.
From www.shuttertock.com
Next-generation genomic research depends on study participants sharing their biological materials with scientists. But concerns over how that information is protected may hold some people back.
Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford
Professor of Bioethics & Medicine, Sydney Health Ethics, Haematologist/BMT Physician, Royal North Shore Hospital and Director, Praxis Australia, University of Sydney
Paediatrician at the Royal Childrens Hospital and Associate Professor and Clinician Scientist, University of Melbourne and MCRI, Murdoch Children's Research Institute