By as split 4-4-1 advisory decision, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld a 2008 Quebec Court of Appeal decision that found some of the federal Assisted Human Reproduction Act intruded on province’s jurisdiction over health. Pro-life and faith groups condemned the decision because it gave provinces control of the creation, destruction and manipulation of human embryos. The Supreme Court upheld in part [...]
An inexpensive genetic test has been developed that can detect 448 genetic childhood diseases. The makers of the test are hoping to expand this to 580 conditions within the next six months and the Beyond Batten Disease Foundation, which funded the National Center for Genome Resources research hopes that the new universal screening process will be available commercially within a [...]
Some scientists still want ESCR A faster and more efficient way of deriving stem cells from ordinary skin cells has been discovered, announced scientists in Boston on Sept. 30, who said their discovery will revolutionize an already-booming field of medical advances through adult stem cells. Meanwhile, stem cells derived from human embryos cannot claim even one success in human treatment. A technique [...]
The creation of the world’s first self-replicating synthetic bacterial cell has been greeted with optimism and controversy. Scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute, a genome research organization, announced their accomplishment on May 20. The team was able to construct the 1.08 million base pair chromosome of a modified Mycoplasma mycoides cell using the digitized genome of M. mycoides and chemically synthesizing [...]
National Affairs correspondent Rory Leishman points out yet another shocking disregard for human life on the part of the Obama administration.
The very real possibility of an immanent ethical stem cell breakthrough has many researchers in the US and Canada excited.
The Interim editor Paul Tuns takes a look at Obama’s recent anti-life decisions regarding embryonic stem cell research.
Donald DeMarco emphasizes the importance of distinguishing what is real and what is nonsense regarding the politicized issues of the day.
Editor's Note: The Interim is publishing excerpts from Dignitatis Personae: On Certain Bioethical Questions, the Vatican's new instruction on bioethics. The instruction, released Dec. 12 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is considered the most significant document treating biomedical issues in over 20 years, updating Donum Vitae, addressing the scientific advances of the past two decades. The excerpts we [...]
Does God still talk to man with signs and wonders? Or did He stop communicating with his children 2,000 years ago? Are miracles a thing of the past, or are they taking place as often and potently as each plea is voiced? It appears as though God is still in touch with his creatures in a profound way. He did say that [...]
A much-celebrated breakthrough that turns adult skin cells to embryonic-like stem cells is not the solution to the problem of destroying embryos for pluripotent stem cells. In November, Dr. Shinya Yamanaka and Dr. James Thomson published separate studies that were hailed as moral alternatives to embryonic stem cell research, both in the media and by some pro-lifers. Both studies involved introducing genes [...]
It has spent the last quarter-century providing valuable scientific insight into life issues in Canada and, as co-founder and co-president Dr. L.L. Barrie de Veber pledges, the Toronto-based de Veber Institute for Bioethics and Social Research, which bears his name, is only just beginning. “We closed down last year – we ran out of money. But now, we’re up and going again, [...]
The quotable Leon Kass Editor’s note: Leon R. Kass delivered this commencement address at St. John’s College, Annapolis, Md. on May 13. It is reprinted with permission. Dr. Kass is chairman of the President’s Council on Bioethics, a Hertog Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the author of numerous books, including Reproduction and Responsibility (2004) and Life, Liberty and the Defence [...]
Many doctors have been asked the question, “Doctor, is my baby normal?” The physician replying to the above question must remember that all medical diagnostic tests should be performed only in order to identify and, if possible, cure or ameliorate whatever condition the patient may be suffering from. He or she should also know that some currently used medical diagnostic tests are [...]
I have no problem with science as such. But I do, sometimes, have trouble with the scientists. Science has done wonderful things for us and for the world in general. Cars, radios, telephones, computers and airplanes are just a few of the tremendous benefits of science and the scientists who invented and developed them. I have no problems with most of the [...]