October 6, 2004
Developing the brain-machine interface…
Artificial Retina
Blindness has defied
doctors’ search for a cure for decades. Joseph Rizzo and John
Wyatt have developed an electrical implant that could finally
help millions of people see again.
“In
the mid-1980’s neuroophthalmologist Joseph Rizzo III was
researching retinal transplants to restore blind people’s
vision. One day, removing a lab animal’s retina, a tissue-thin
membrane that lines the back of the eyeball’s interior, he had
an epiphany. ‘The moment I made the cut, I said to myself, “What
in the hell are you doing?”’ Rizzo recounts. He realized he was
cutting nerve connections that are actually spared in many forms
of blindness. The retina’s light-sensing cells die off in
retinitis pigmentosa and agerelated macular degeneration, which
affect millions worldwide; but the nearby neurons that ferry the
signals from those cells to the brain remain intact. So Rizzo
conceived of a retinal prosthesis—an implant that would take a
wireless signal from a video camera, bypass the light receptors,
and stimulate the healthy nerve cells directly to feed the image
to the brain. Rizzo, working at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear
Infirmary and the Boston VA Medical Center, teamed up with MIT
electrical engineer John Wyatt Jr. to pursue the scheme. In
1988, they launched the Boston Retinal Implant Project, which
today comprises 27 researchers at eight institutions. The team
has already done short-term human tests and hopes to test a
permanent prosthesis by 2006.Wyatt and Rizzo recently gave
TR contributing editor
Erika Jonietz a peek at their progress….”
Technology Review – September 2004
Another very
informative article on this project, “Electric
Eye Under Development: Artificial Retina Nearly in Sight,”
appeared earlier this year in the Harvard Gazette.
"Gendercide"
— term
coined for “the phenomenon caused by millions of families in
China resorting to abortion and infanticide to make sure their
one child was a boy.”
China Grapples with
Legacy of Its ‘Missing Girls’
Disturbing demographic imbalance spurs drive to change age-old
practices
“China is asking
where all the girls have gone.
“And the sobering
answer is that this vast nation, now the world’s fastest-growing
economy, is confronting a self-perpetuated demographic disaster
that some experts describe as ‘gendercide’—the phenomenon caused
by millions of families resorting to abortion and infanticide to
make sure their one child was a boy.
“The age-old bias
for boys, combined with China’s draconian one-child policy
imposed since 1980, has produced what Gu Baochang, a leading
Chinese expert on family planning, described as ‘the largest,
the highest, and the longest’ gender imbalance in the world….
“From a relatively
normal ratio of 108.5 boys to 100 girls in the early 80s, the
male surplus progressively rose to 111 in 1990, 116 in 2000, and
is now is close to 120 boys for each 100 girls at the present
time, according to a Chinese think-tank report.
“The shortage of
women is creating a ‘huge societal issue,’ warned U.N. resident
coordinator Khalid Malik earlier this year.
“Along with HIV/AIDS
and environmental degradation, he said it was one of the three
biggest challenges facing China….”
NBC News –
September 14, 2004
Do it yourself “gendercide” at American fertility
clinics…
Sex Selection Goes
Mainstream
“Several times over
the past few months, a small but striking ad from a
Virginia-based fertility clinic has appeared in the Sunday
Styles section of the New York Times. Alongside a smiling baby,
its boldface headline asks, ‘Do You Want To Choose the Gender Of
Your Next Baby?’
“If so, the ad
continues, you can join ‘prospective parents...from all over the
world’ who come to the Genetics & IVF Institute (GIVF) for an
‘exclusive scientifically-based sperm sorting gender selection
procedure.’ The technique, known by the trademarked name
MicroSort, is offered as a way to choose a girl or boy either
for the ‘prevention of genetic diseases’ (selecting against the
sex affected by an X-linked or Y-linked condition) or for
‘family balancing’ (selecting for a girl in a family that
already has one or more boys, or vice versa)….”
AlterNet – Posted
on September 25, 2003
Having a baby to save a baby…and sacrificing
other embryos in the process…
Couple Allowed to
Select an Embryo to Save Sibling
“A couple whose son
suffers from a rare blood disorder have been become the first
parents in the United Kingdom to be given the go ahead to use
preimplantation tissue typing solely to try to create a donor
sibling who could save their child’s life.
“Joshua Fletcher’s
case is the first to be approved since the Human Fertilisation
and Embryology Authority (HFEA) relaxed its rules in July.
“Before then, under
rules made in 2001, tissue typing could be carried out only on
cells that had been taken from embryos for the purpose of
excluding inherited diseases. Tissue typing was seen as just an
additional procedure.
“Under these rules
the parents of Zain Hashmi, from Leeds, who had an inherited
blood disease, were given permission in 2002 to try to create a
tissue matched sibling. But the authority decided in July to
allow preimplantation tissue typing to be used on its own, after
a through review of the subject, including testing of public
opinion….”
British Medical Journal – September 11, 2004
He sticks his tongue out, he smiles...
The Womb as Photo
Studio
“It’s
a rite of passage for many expectant parents: baby’s first
ultrasound. The fuzzy images of the fetus, produced during an
examination in an obstetrician’s office, are prized by couples,
passed around proudly among friends and relatives….
“Parents-to-be
typically pay from about $80 for a short ultrasound session
primarily to determine the fetus’s sex to $300 for a half-hour
session that is recorded on a videocassette or DVD and includes
color photos.
“While medical
professionals warn of potential health risks from unnecessary
ultrasounds, those who offer the elective examinations say they
are safe and fulfill a need.
“‘Women love it,’
said Matt Evans, a lawyer, who started his company, Baby Insight
(baby -insight.com), about a year and a half ago. ‘They get to
see their baby and have an emotional experience with their
baby.’
“Mr. Evans said his
technicians have performed more than 2,000 ultrasounds at the
company’s only location, in Potomac, Md. Baby Insight's
highest-priced package, for $260, includes a video with
background music, one 8-by-10, two 5-by-7, and 10 wallet-size
color photos, four announcement cards and a chance for friends
and family members to view the ultrasound images as they are
produced on a large screen in the company’s theater room….
“‘He’s yawning, he
sticks his tongue out, he smiles,’ she said. ‘It gives you a
realization of what’s going on when your stomach is moving
around and bouncing around.’
“While doctors
typically conduct ultrasounds at 20 weeks (when the fetus is
large enough to show abnormalities), nonmedical ultrasounds are
generally performed later, when the fetus is more developed and
more photogenic….”
New York Times – September 23, 2004
Another success with adult stem cells…
Bone Marrow Cells
Regenerate Heart in Brazil Test
“Infusing patients
with bone marrow cells can reinvigorate their dying hearts and
grow tiny new arteries and heart muscle tissue, a treatment that
may one day make many heart transplants unnecessary, Brazilian
researchers said on Friday.
“Dr. Hans Fernando
Dohmann, coordinator of the research carried out at the
Pro-Cardiac Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, told Reuters four
patients out of the five studied no longer needed transplants
after being treated with stem cells.
“‘It was the first
time we saw that stem cells actually generate new arterioles,
although we have indirectly observed that before via tests. That
eliminated the need for transplants in four patients who had had
indisputable transplant indications,’ he said.
“The experiment, to
be detailed to a weekend meeting of heart researchers and
submitted to the journal Circulation, adds to a growing
body of research that suggests such treatments can someday avoid
the need for many transplants….”
Reuters.com – September 25, 2004
Advancing the reproductive revolution…
First Birth After
Ovarian Tissue Transplant
Procedure could
extend fertility after menopause
“A
Belgian woman has given birth to the first baby born after an
ovarian tissue transplant, a medical advance that gives hope to
young cancer patients whose fertility may be damaged by
chemotherapy.
“The baby, a healthy
girl named Tamara, was born at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday in a
hospital in Brussels and weighed 8.2 lb. Her mother is Ouarda
Touirat, 32, a hospital spokeswoman said.
“The birth, announced
by The Lancet medical journal, which is to publish the
results of the procedure Friday, marks the first time fertility
has been restored to a woman after doctors cut out and froze
some of her ovarian tissue and transplanted it back into her
body years later.
“‘The mother and baby
are in excellent health,’ the spokeswoman told Reuters. ‘This
astonishing feat gives tremendous hope to all women rendered
infertile by cancer treatments,’ the hospital added in a
statement.
“Doctors led by
Professor Jacques Donnez, head of the Department of Gynecology
and Andrology at the Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, removed
and froze ovarian tissue from Touirat in 1997, when she was 25.
“Five years after she
was cleared of cancer, the tissue was grafted back onto her
fallopian tubes….”
MSNBC – September
24, 2004
The paper describing
this transplant, “Livebirth after orthotopic transplantation of
cryopreserved ovarian tissue,” was published in the September 25,
2004 issue of The
Lancet (Volume 364, Number 9440). (subscription or fee
for use required)
Is this one for real, or just more embryonic stem
cell hype?
Stem Cells
May Open Some Eyes
“Scientists have derived retinal cells from embryonic stem cells
for the first time, in a breakthrough that could lead to the
first therapeutic use of the controversial cells.
“If animal
studies go well, the researchers said they could begin testing
the replacement cells in human eyes in as little as two years.
“The
researchers, who are from Advanced Cell Technology, Wake Forest
University School of Medicine and the University of Chicago,
said that while previous studies in retina replacement cells
have shown promise only to ward off future vision deterioration,
retinal cells derived from embryonic stem cells could actually
give vision to those who are already blind.
“‘These
cells actually make the cones and rods,’ said Robert Lanza,
chief scientific officer at Advanced Cell Technology and lead
author of the paper. ‘We’re in a position to not only maintain
vision so you don’t get further loss, but these cells appear to
want to form entire eyeballs.’
“The cells
could help treat people with macular degeneration, which affects
more than 30 million people worldwide. The disease gradually
causes complete loss of sight and is the leading cause of
blindness in people older than 60 in the United States. The
cells could also help people with retinitis pigmentosa, which
afflicts about 75,000 people in the United States….”
Wired.com – September 24, 2004
The
technical paper announcing this research, “Derivation
and Comparative Assessment of Retinal Pigment Epithelium from
Human Embryonic Stem Cells Using Transcriptomics,” was
published in Cloning and Stem Cells (Volume 6, Number 3,
2004).
Revamping the human body in search of
self-esteem…
How Young Is Too
Young to Have a Nose Job and Breast Implants?
“Thanks in part to
television shows like ‘I Want a Famous Face’ on MTV, ‘The Swan’
on Fox and ‘Extreme Makeover’ on ABC, cosmetic surgery is more
popular than ever. And children and teenagers are not immune to
the trend.
“The number of
cosmetic surgeries performed on people 18 and under reached
74,233 in 2003, a 14 percent increase from 2000, according to
the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Girls and boys as
young as 6 get plastic surgery to flatten protruding ears.
Adolescents of 13 or 14 have nose jobs. And nearly 3,700 breast
augmentation surgeries were performed on teenage girls last
year, according to the society. Almost as many teenage boys -
3,300 - had overly developed breasts reduced….”
The New York Times / StarNewsOnline.com — September 28. 2004
Alternative medicine joins the biotech
revolution…
Acupuncture Moves
Toward the Mainstream
“Three years ago,
Alfred Szymanski could not seem to get his blood pressure under
control. He ran 10 miles a week, stuck to a healthy diet and was
on a hypertension medication, all to no avail. His doctor
suggested switching medications, but Mr. Szymanski, wary of side
effects, decided to try something he had always wondered about:
acupuncture.
“After three
20-minute sessions, each covered by his medical plan, his blood
pressure plunged 20 points.
“‘Every time I left I
was so relaxed; it was like euphoria,’ said Mr. Szymanski, 61,
who lives in New York. ‘My blood pressure stayed down for quite
a while.’
“Acupuncture, long
shunned by mainstream medicine but for centuries considered the
crown jewel of alternative therapy, is slowly gaining ground in
doctors’ offices around the country. While some experts still
question its effectiveness, studies in recent years – including
one at Duke last week - have thrown scientific weight behind its
benefits, supporting its usefulness in alleviating conditions
from morning sickness to carpal tunnel syndrome.
“In the past few
years, the number of hospitals offering acupuncture and other
alternative therapies has doubled. At the same time,
postgraduate training programs in alternative medicine have
sprung up at universities around the country, most recently at
Harvard and the University of San Francisco….”
The New York Times – September 28, 2004
Worth considering…
From
“American Bioscience Meets the American Dream,”
by Carl Elliott
Here and abroad, the road
to self-fulfillment is lined with drugs and surgery.
“Over the
past half-century, American doctors have begun to use the tools
of medicine not merely to make sick people better but to make
well people better than well. Bioethicists call these tools
‘enhancement technologies,’ and usually characterize them as
‘cosmetic’ technologies or
‘lifestyle’ drugs. But terms such as
‘enhancement’ can be misleading, and not just because most
enhancements can also be accurately described as treatments for
psychological injuries or illnesses. They are misleading because
the people who use the technologies often characterize them not
merely as a means of enhancement but as a means of shaping
identities. These are tools for working on the self.
“Yet there
is something puzzling about these tools. Even as we use medical
technologies to transform ourselves, often in the most dramatic
ways—face-lifts, personality makeovers, extreme body
modifications—we describe these transformations as a way of
finding our true selves. Medical technology has become, in the
popular imagination, a way of revealing and displaying an
identity that has been hidden by nature, circumstance or
pathology. If you want to understand America, you must first
understand how a country whose citizens are known the world over
for their outgoing self-confidence should emerge as a leading
consumer of drugs for social anxiety; how a nation dedicated to
the freedom of the individual should enforce standards for
physical beauty with such rigidity that grown women race to
restaurant toilets to throw up their dinners; and how a nation
famed for its dedication to the pursuit of happiness should also
be such a fertile market for antidepressant medication….
“These technologies could
not have taken off in the way they have without the traction
provided by the American sense of identity. In America,
technology has become a way for some people to build or
reinforce their identity (and their sense of dignity) while
standing in front of the social mirror. We all realize how
critically important this mirror is for identity. Most of us can
keenly identify with the shame that a person feels when society
reflects back to him or her an image that is degrading or
humiliating. But the flip side to shame is vanity. It is also
possible to become obsessed with the mirror, to spend hours in
front of it, preening and posing, flexing your biceps, admiring
your hair. It is possible to spend so much time
in front of the
mirror that you lose any sense of who you are apart from the
reflection that you see....”
Read the complete
article at
The American Prospect (Volume 14, Issue 6. June 1 2003).
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