Wesley J. Smith

This is so typical. A Swiss gynecologist death doctor named Alois Geiger admits helping with the suicide people outside his medical specialty. He is a gynecologist. From the column:Should one not be allowed to make use of medical means to release oneself from suffering? The wish to commit suicide is . . . . Continue Reading »

This is revisionism on steroids. The Hippocratic Oath is no longer taken by most doctors because it has some politically incorrect clauses, such as barring physicians from mercy killing patients, abortion, and sex with patients. I have written about those matters here at SHS before. But now an . . . . Continue Reading »

I recorded an interview with Shelton Walden a bit ago for his program Walden’s Pond on WBAI, 99.5 FM in New York. It airs today at 1 Eastern, or can be streamed here. This is a Pacifica radio station, on the left of the political spectrum as well as the radio dial, and so I was very pleased to . . . . Continue Reading »

A disturbing study has been published indicating that many doctors prescribe placebos instead of efficacious medications to their patients. From the story:Many rheumatologists and general internal medicine physicians in the US say they regularly prescribe “placebo treatments” including . . . . Continue Reading »

I have warned against this from time to time, but it always bears repeating. The hype tossed around so casually in the great stem cell debate—mostly but not exclusively by ESCR proponents—has raised hopes so high that some people are rushing for unproven stem cell treatments in places . . . . Continue Reading »

An ad on Craigslist offers to euthanize pets at a discount, upsetting animal lovers. From the story: The person who posted the ad on Craigslist said he or she has a “military background” and is “very good at what I do. All work is carried out at my private home in Federal . . . . Continue Reading »

What this has to do with me, I don’t understand:Bad pun, good point:HT: Miguel . . . . Continue Reading »

The NEJM has an editorial out in which it claims to tackle the three “inconvenient truths” about health care. From the editorial: 1. Over the past 30 years, U.S. health care expenditures have grown 2.8% per annum faster, on average, than the rest of the economy. If this differential . . . . Continue Reading »

Here’s an exciting animal experiment. Scientists found an adult prostate stem cell in mice and one cell grew an entire new prostate gland. From the story. Here we identify CD117 (c-kit, stem cell factor receptor) as a new marker of a rare adult mouse PSC population, and demonstrate that a . . . . Continue Reading »

One of the disturbing areas of biotechnology that deserves more scrutiny than it has heretofore received is the “savior sibling” concept. A savior sibling is created via IVF and tested prior to implantation to match the DNA of a born child with a disease that could benefit from tissue . . . . Continue Reading »