Greenflame

Jottings on science, religion, technology, pop culture, photography and faith from the Aotearoa New Zealand

Category: Bioethics/Biotech

  • What to do with excess embryos?

    A while back I noted this problem – Greenflame · Embryos in limbo – and some of the dilemmas associated with the storage of ‘extra’ IVF embryos. Here’s one proposed solution: RNS Feature: “What to do with excess embryos? One doctor has an idea.”

  • Life, death and the genetic selection

    Recent article in the NZ Listener gives some food for thought. It’s now available in full on their web site. See Feature: Life, death and the genetic selection by Joanne Black | New Zealand Listener See also: Perils in online genetic tests | Stuff.co.nz (August 2008) Legal experts back screening of embryos | Stuff.co.nz (March…

  • What value do we place on humanlike machines?

    Do Humanlike Machines Deserve Human Rights? over at Wired talks about different responses to creations that become more human like. Similar perhaps to the “Flesh Fair” in Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence?

  • New teeth?

    My dentist is sending me reminders about coming in for a check up, which reminded me of this article from a few weeks back. Nation & World | Chew on this: We’ll soon be able to grow replacement teeth | Seattle Times Newspaper. One of my eschatological hopes is new teeth 🙂

  • Death as an engineering problem

    Interview: Jason Silva on How Science Will Make You Live Forever looks at scientific ‘salvation’ stories. Besides, by labeling death a problem, it shifts our complacent attitude about death and turns it into an engineering problem, one that we can solve, much as we have solved impossible problems in the past. The film referred to…

  • We have the technology to rebuild ourselves

    A good recent summary of some of the developments in prosthetics. See We have the technology to rebuild ourselves – tech – 07 January 2009 – New Scientist. Far-fetched as it may seem now, what if cosmetic surgery was to one day extend to replacing perfectly good arms and legs with more beautiful or powerful…

  • Embryos in limbo

    What happens to embryos created by IVF but not implanted is a fraught question for many, but it gets more complicated when those storing the embryos can’t contact the couples. See Embryos in limbo – dilemma for clinics – Religion and beliefs – NZ Herald News. (It’s been filed in the Herald’s “Religion and beliefs”…

  • Bioethical connections

    A series of interconnected posts from around the net recently: James Hughes over at Trans-Spirit : Message: Vatican condemns enhancement, embryonic stem cells, cloning highlights the recent Vatican document Dignitas Personae relating to bioethics He then follows it up with a list of other Catholic bioethics-related publications at – Trans-Spirit : Message: Dignitas Personae and…

  • timeless : Direct Human Brain – AI – Interface Technologies

    A timely reminder in the face of all the hooplah about human-machine interfaces : timeless : Direct Human Brain – AI – Interface Technologies by Gina Rydland. Lack of factual information creates a naive conception of the development process of technologies sanctioned as safe to use, clouding the public debate and undermining sufficient grounds for…

  • European agency rules against stem cell patents

    Following on from the previous posting here’s an ongoing development in Europe. See European agency rules against stem cell patents | Health | Reuters. Related links: Are we too risk averse? and Social issues and GM crops – LearningSpace – OpenLearn – The Open University.