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The Problem of Ill-Gotten Gain in Health Care

October 22, 2020 • Posted in Blog

C. Ben Mitchell, Ph.D. Distinguished Fellow

The politicized debate about President Trump’s treatment for Covid-19 may have shrouded an important set of questions about the science of developing treatments, viz., the problem of ill-gotten gain.

Among other treatment protocols, the President received Regeneron’s REGN-COV2, a “cocktail” of two neutralizing antibodies that has shown promise in some animal studies (see here and here). The media jumped on an association between REGN-COV2 antibodies and fetal cells, some even claiming that the antibodies were developed from fetal cells.

 

Screenshot of NYT headline on Oct. 8, 2020

 

 

 

 

The fact of the matter is REGN-COV2 was tested for its virus-neutralizing ...read more

Our Summer Non-Vacation

September 23, 2019 • Posted in Blog

D. Joy Riley, M.D., M.A. Executive Director

“What I did on my summer vacation” is an assignment many of us have had to complete in the late Augusts or early Septembers of our lives, when we returned to school after the summer break. Given that Summer 2019 has just ended (although the high temperatures have yet to abate), an update on our activities is in order:

21 June 2019 — First Day of Summer

We hosted “Chicago Meets New York: Dinner and a Movie” at the Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity’s 26th international bioethics conference on the campus of Trinity International University outside ...read more

What Is a SHEEF, and Why Should We Care?

April 28, 2017 • Posted in Blog

D. Joy Riley, M.D., M.A. Executive Director

Human embryo research has long been guided by what is known as the “14-day rule.” That is, various nations have allowed research on embryos up to 14 days post fertilization. The 14-day rule was put in place ostensibly in order to avoid causing pain for the developing embryo. The primitive streak — the first visible evidence of gastrulation and the formation of differentiated tissues in the embryo — appears at about day 15 after fertilization. (See video at the bottom of this post for more information.)

When the 14-day rule was put in place, laboratories were ...read more

Is there life for stem cells after Geron? — NewScientist

November 21, 2011 • Posted in Stem Cell Research

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21190-is-there-life-for-stem-cells-after-geron.html

FDA Okays First Cord Blood Product — medpage TODAY

November 10, 2011 • Posted in Atlas

http://www.medpagetoday.com/HematologyOncology/Hematology/29594

Stem Cells May Ease Angina in Tough Cases — medpage TODAY

July 8, 2011 • Posted in Atlas

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/AcuteCoronarySyndrome/27458

Scottish scientists grow kidneys in a laboratory — Daily Record

April 12, 2011 • Posted in Atlas

By Charlie Gall

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/health-news/2011/04/11/scottish-scientists-grow-kidneys-in-a-laboratory-86908-23053117/

Embryonic Stem Cell Research

April 12, 2010 • Posted in Latin America

Brazil and Embryonic Stem Cell Research News article — http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN29353044 Comment  — http://www.bioedge.org/index.php/bioethics/bioethics_article/8171/