Tag Archives : Bioethics

The World’s First Synthetic Human Embryo: No need for sperm, eggs, and fertilization

Worldwide, the prevalence of miscarriage is extremely high, yearly reported at 23 million. Of the average 6 million pregnancies in the United States each year, 16% end in miscarriage. The fetus is most vulnerable within the first trimester, with the majority of losses occurring between week 6-8, possibly resulting from genetic or environmental factors. However, […]

“Nebraska Physicians are Playing ‘Fast and Loose’ with ‘Dead Donor’ Organ Harvesting Laws”

Approximately 42,000 organ transplantations occurred in the United States last year, the highest amount ever. However, over 100,000 people are on the organ transplant waiting list at any given time. In a bid to close the large gap between donors and those waiting, UNMC in Omaha, NE published a new research protocol specifically for heart […]

American College of Physicians Statement of Concern

The American College of Physicians, the largest specialty society in the world (Internal Medicine) offers expertise and insight into the definition of both circulatory and brain death. In doing so, they uncover breaches in both logic and ethics as presented in the new NRP-cDCD protocol.  Take the time and read the following article to get […]

Gene Edited Pig Heart Successfully Transplanted

In a ground-breaking first, researchers and surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center have successfully transplanted a gene-edited pig heart into a dying man. For the heart to not be rejected once transplanted, 10 separate genes were deleted or added using CRISPR, earning the donor animal the nickname of a “10 gene pig”. Over […]

Growing Humans in Labratories – Abandoning 14 Day Rule

NCER Commentary: ALARMING news: The “14 Day Rule” was established by the medical research community as the cutoff for growing human embryos in test tubes because this is the earliest development of the brain and spinal cord which would put the embryo at risk of suffering pain.  But as of this week, the International Society […]

Another distressing first in scientific research

NCER Update by: Carol Szczepaniak Date:5-12-21 Mammalian embryos have been grown outside of a womb. The implications are chilling. For the first time in Developmental Biology, a mammalian (mouse) embryo has been observed as it developed through half of its gestation period (11 weeks) while outside a natural womb. Using an intricate artificial placenta that […]

New versions of “Pandora’s” Ethics box keep being opened

NCER Update by: Carol Szczepaniak Date:5-12-21   An international research team from China and the US has made history by successfully injecting human stem cells into macaque monkey embryos, and growing them in the lab for 20 days. This kind of creation is referred to as a chimera, named after a Greek mythological monster, because […]

2020 Was a Breakout Year for Crispr

NCER Comments:  Sickle Cell Anemia is a heritable disease that 1 in every 13 Black or African American babies possess when born. Red blood cells are abnormally shaped, so are unable to carry oxygen needed for all tissues and organs to survive. The average lifespan is only 40 years, but a new development using the CRISPR […]