A study published in the February issue of Science argues that the evolutionary roots of moral disgust may be linked to our reaction to poison and disease: In the study, the scientists examined facial movements when participants tasted unpleasant liquids and looked at photographs of disgusting . . . . Continue Reading »
When the smartest Republican governor, Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal, sounds dumb in responding to the administration’s economic plan, something is drastically wrong. On the face of it the Obama plan is the most easily ridiculed policy vehicle to stumble down Pennsylvania Avenue since Gerald . . . . Continue Reading »
The Hastings Center published an article in its journal IRB: Ethics and Human Research (“Including Persons with Alzheimer Disease in Research on Comorbid Conditions,” 31, no. 1 (2009): 1-6) that I found both alarming and a sign of the increased desire among some in the bioethics and . . . . Continue Reading »
Furthermore , if babies help make us human, wouldn’t that mean that fewer babies might make us more selfish and less sociable—in the words of Dr. Hrdy, less human? But I keep getting ahead of myself. . . . . Continue Reading »
Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. They just help make us people and not other primates, reports the New York Times : In the view of the primatologist Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, the extraordinary social skills of an infant are at the heart of what makes us human. Through its ability to solicit . . . . Continue Reading »
A last-minute addition to my travels near Boston: I mentioned last week that I’ll be giving a poetry reading on Saturday, March 14, at 3:00 p.m. at Jabberwocky Bookshop , 50 Water Street, Newburyport, Massachusetts. Some Readers of First Things in Wellesley saw the announcement and asked if I . . . . Continue Reading »
In an article about the LA Fertility Institute’s recent offer to help parents choose the genetic traits of their children, including eye and hair color and gender, the company’s founder, Dr. Jeff Steinberg, said “I would not say this is a dangerous road. It’s an uncharted . . . . Continue Reading »
Most of us instinctively agree that the human brain and the computer are qualitatively different—that the difference between human and computer intelligence is one, not of degree, but of kind. If you were wondering, however, why this is true, Ari N. Schulman at the New Atlantis has a wonderful . . . . Continue Reading »
Remember when we were told that IVF, coupled with pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), would only be used to prevent serious genetic health maladies from being passed to the next generation? That was never true, of course. The intent was to get people to accept the principle that parents should . . . . Continue Reading »
President Obama still hasn’t rescinded the Bush stem cell policy. He will, but it may matter a lot less than people once thought. The IPSC advances continue, opening the door possibly for a way forward in biotechnology that all Americans can support. And, it is reported in the Washington Post! . . . . Continue Reading »
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