[Medscape] The proportion of organ donors from U.S. minority groups has increased substantially in the past 20 years, following national education efforts to raise awareness of the need, a new study finds.
Kidney transplants, for example, have a greater chance of success when the donor and recipient are as genetically similar as possible. But historically, organ [...]

[NYT] ON a Tuesday evening this spring, Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google, became part man and part machine. About 40 people, all gathered here at a NASA campus for a nine-day, $15,000 course at Singularity University, saw it happen.

While the flesh-and-blood version of Mr. Brin sat miles away at a computer capable of remotely steering [...]

(FirstWord) World Health Organization Director General Margaret Chan on Tuesday responded to a report by the BMJ that investigated potential conflicts of interest within the agency and pharmaceutical companies, noting that “at no time, not for one second, did commercial interests enter my decision-making.”
In her letter to the editors, Chan said “potential conflicts of interest [...]

[WSJ] When D., a woman in her mid-30s, learned that she was dying from complications of AIDS, she fully expected that her life would end in much the same way it had been lived: homeless, alone and among strangers.

If it hadn’t been for Dr. Jason K. Alexander, a medical student at the time, she might [...]

The Explores Club will host a lecture on disaster and pandemic preparedness ethics with Jennifer Miller, Executive Director of Bioethics International on June 23, 2010 6.30 – 8.30pm. 
Description:  Disasters including pandemics are a real and significant threat … not a question of if, but of when.
Jennifer Miller, executive director of Bioethics International (BEI), will [...]

[BBC] Another Danish pharmaceutical company is withdrawing products from Greece in protest at the government’s decision to cut the prices of medicines by 25%.
The Leo Pharma company says it is suspending sales of two popular drugs because the price reductions will cause job losses across Europe.   The Greek government is struggling with a debt crisis.  [...]

[BBC] A British scientist says he is the first man in the world to become infected with a computer virus.
Dr Mark Gasson from the University of Reading contaminated a computer chip which was then inserted into his hand. The device, which enables him to pass through security doors and activate his mobile phone, is a [...]

[NYT] I stare harder into the bathroom mirror these days than I ever have. Not out of some pathetic middle-aged vanity, but more out of curiosity. Two years after learning I had an aggressive prostate cancer, I want to see how my face has been weathered and sculptured by the uncertainty and wisdom wrought by [...]

[AP] Scientists announced a bold step Thursday in the enduring quest to create artificial life. They’ve produced a living cell powered by manmade DNA.
While such work can evoke images of Frankenstein-like scientific tinkering, it also is exciting hopes that it could eventually lead to new fuels, better ways to clean polluted water, faster vaccine production [...]

Doctors in India accused of overcharging patients for vaccines. (APPhoto/Kevin Frayer)

[Examiner] According to a recent article in The Economic Times, New Delhi, complaints have been filed against 1,992 doctors in India alleging they violated professional ethics by receiving gifts, hospitality, or monetary grants from pharmaceutical companies.
The Medical Council of India amended its professional code of ethics [...]