On Mar 30, 2015, at 4:08 PM Dear friends I returned from NC last night with Tina Murphy, my sister-in-law, after a 12-hour convoy from the mountains to bring her husband’s body and his wrecked motorcycle home. This will be my last “email blast” post. ___________________ Friday dawned cold and wet at Uncle Johnnie’s Hiker Hostel. It rained all night and the temperature plummeted that morning, shooing many of my new friends back into their sleeping bags. I was determined to hike, despite the wet and cold. I had packed for both. I set out into the backside of the…
Just Because We Can . . . Should We?
It is theoretically possible, using modern genetic processes, to create a mouse that carries the gene for human testes or ovaries. While possible in theory, some say possible in practice, the question is, does it make sense? It is theoretically possible, with two mice, each carrying the genetic code of a human being in their modified reproductive organs, to suction the gametes from each mouse and create a “test tube” human being, just as we bring ova and sperm together today through in vitro fertilization, or IVF. Therefore, it’s not a far stretch to propose that mice with these modified…
You Can’t Undo A Harm
“Exploitation of women.” The word conjures up many images, none of them good. Cashing in on women, unfair treatment, abuse or oppression. When I write about women selling their bodies, most readers immediately jump to conclusions about prostitution, or the sex slave trade of young girls trafficked out of central Europe and Asia. Yet few people consider the other trafficking, the exploitation that takes place on college campuses and in third world countries every day. Women selling their eggs for cash, lured by promises of “generous compensation,” a greedy wolf wrapped in the “sheep’s clothing” of altruism. Egg donation. It’s…
Breaking the Seal on Pandora’s Jar
“I don’t read biological thrillers,” a friend told me recently, “because I don’t want to confront the ugly reality that we’re surrounded by unspeakable danger.” I laughed aloud, surprised that Tom had been so honest about his fear. Nevertheless, he expressed a concern that I hear from at least one reader every day. “Surely it’s not that dangerous,” others insist, desperate to avoid confronting the unsettling facts about what biotechnology has thrust upon us. We live in an unstable future. It’s time to acknowledge that reality and embrace a slippery footing on this rapidly moving boat that we call medical…