Comments - Ethical Issues in Medicine

Earlier in the year, there was public outcry about the decision of an American couple to retard the growth of their daughter who is severely retarded in order to make caring for her more manageable. Recently, there has also been an outcry in the UK concerning a British couple who have requested a hysterectomy for their severely retarded daughter.

As new grounds are being broken in the field of medicine, many ethical issues are being raised. Is it morally right to allow assisted suicide or euthanasia? Should gene testing be carried out to determine if a baby has hereditary diseases? Should babies be made for the sole purpose of being donors for their sick older siblings? Should babies with limited chances of living normal lives be killed at birth or allowed to grow up with their deformities? The list goes on and on.

There appears to be a blurred line between right and wrong. Personally, I think every case should be judged on it own merit rather than making blanket yes or no decisions. I do appreciate that there may be instances of abuse by medical practitioners or individuals; therefore it is highly imperative that checks and balances be put in place to prevent abuse and misuse.

However, as more medical discoveries are being made, the problem of ethics in medicine will remain controversial for a long time to come. - By Alicia Jones

Trio share Nobel Prize in medicine

Mario R. Capecchi, Oliver Smithies and Sir Martin J. Evans won the 2007 Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for groundbreaking discoveries that led to a technique for manipulating mouse genes.

The widely used process has helped scientists use mice to study heart disease, diabetes, cancer, cystic fibrosis and other diseases.

Capecchi, 70, who was born in Italy, is at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Smithies, 82, born in Britain, is at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Evans is at Cardiff University in England.

This year's Nobel Laureates have made a series of ground-breaking discoveries concerning embryonic stem cells and DNA recombination in mammals. Their discoveries led to the creation of an immensely powerful technology referred to as gene targeting in mice. It is now being applied to virtually all areas of biomedicine – from basic research to the development of new therapies.

Gene targeting is often used to inactivate single genes. Such gene "knockout" experiments have elucidated the roles of numerous genes in embryonic development, adult physiology, aging and disease. To date, more than ten thousand mouse genes (approximately half of the genes in the mammalian genome) have been knocked out. Ongoing international efforts will make "knockout mice" for all genes available within the near future.

With gene targeting it is now possible to produce almost any type of DNA modification in the mouse genome, allowing scientists to establish the roles of individual genes in health and disease. Gene targeting has already produced more than five hundred different mouse models of human disorders, including cardiovascular and neuro-degenerative diseases, diabetes and cancer. (nobelprize.org)

"Gene targeting has pervaded all fields of biomedicine. Its impact on the understanding of gene function and its benefits to mankind will continue to increase over many years to come," the award citation said.

Capecchi's work has uncovered the roles of genes involved in organ development in mammals, the committee said. Evans has developed strains of gene-altered mice to study cystic fibrosis, and Smithies has created strains to study such conditions as high blood pressure and heart disease.

The medicine prize was the first of the six prestigious awards to be announced this year. The others are chemistry, physics, literature, peace and economics.

The prizes are handed out every year on Dec. 10, the anniversary of award founder Alfred Nobel's death in 1896.

South and North Korean leaders meet at historic summit

South Korea's president, Roh Moo-Hyun, arrived in the capital of North Korea on Tuesday to cheering crowds and North Korean leader Kim Jong-11 for the second summit between Cold War-era foes who remain technically at war.

The meeting is expected to bolster North Korea's image and put aside the questions of nuclear weapons acquiring by the country.

The South Korean president was met with shouts of 'reunify the homeland' by the crowd.

Boris Johnson chosen by Conservatives to contest London mayoral race

The Conservatives named eccentric politician Boris Johnson as their candidate for London mayor on Thursday.

He will be challenging Labour's Ken Livingstone for the job of running one of the world's biggest cities.

Johnson is a former editor of the Spectator magazine and current MP for Henley on Thames.

The mayoral election is in May 2008.

Taliban kidnap two Red Cross staff

Taliban insurgents have kidnapped two foreign officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the Afghan province of Wardak.

In August the ICRC had helped facilitate talks between the Taliban and South Korean officials that led to the release of 19 Korean hostages after more than a month of captivity.

It is reported that the officials were on a 'humanitarian mission'.

Mourinho Leaves Chelsea

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has stunned the premiership on Thurday by leaving Chelsea. The official statement from the club said it was by mutual consent.

Mourinho joined Chelsea in June 2004 and led them to the Premiership title in each of his first two seasons.

But his relationship with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich grew increasingly troubled and he quit despite having three years left on his contract.

Mourinho was very popular with the Chelsea fans and sentiments will tend to be very divided in a club with an already poor fan attendance at matches.

HOLIDAY JET IN THAI CRASH

A holiday airliner crash-landed in Thailand yesterday in bad weather, killing at least 89 passengers and crew. Rescuers were still removing bodies from the wreckage at the airport at the southern resort of Phuket on Monday.

Thai officials say the dead included British, Irish, Australian and Isreali tourists who had been among the 123 passengers and 5 crew on board the flight from Bangkok operated by the budget airline One-Two-Go.

Investigators have said that the pilot tried to abort the landing as the plane approached the airport but lost balance and crashed. It was torn into two.