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Ethicists Debate New York State's Decision To Pay Egg Donors Who Aid Stem Cell Research
New York state"s decision last month to allow state-funded embryonic stem cell researchers to pay women for donating their eggs had drawn support from many scientists and doctors but fueled debate among some ethicists, Long Island Newsday reports. The state"s Empire State Stem Cell Board said that researchers can pay women up to $10,000 as compensation for their time and the invasive nature of the procedure.Scientists and research advocates say the decision could boost important research into cures of serious diseases while attracting investments and new jobs to the state. Opponents raise ethical concerns about using taxpayer money for research that some people find morally objectionable. Some also contend that payment might exploit low-income women, according to Newsday. The National Academy of Sciences and NIH do not permit payments to research participants beyond reimbursement.Thomas Berg -- director of the Westchester Institute for Ethics and the Human Person and a Roman Catholic priest opposed to embryonic stem cell research -- cast the sole dissenting vote in the stem cell board"s decision. Berg said the board ignored his suggestions to open the discussion to the public. However, Samuel Packer -- a member of the board and chair emeritus at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System"s Department of Ophthalmology -- said the decision was made during a public meeting following a "long, lively debate." Packer said, "At some point the dissenting voice can"t stop the progress of science or anything else in society." He added, "There is a direct link between having better eggs and doing better research" (Ochs, Long Island Newsday, 7/9).

Molecular Life Sciences New Online Publication
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press has launched a new monthly publication, Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology, that provides comprehensive, systematically structured surveys of research in exciting areas of molecular and cellular biology, genetics, developmental biology, neuroscience, cancer biology, and molecular pathology.
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Also In Global Health News: HIV & TB; ITN Program; DRC's Health System

HIV-Positive Babies More Likely To Contract Deadly TB If Given BCG A three-year study in South Africa found that babies who were born HIV-positive had a higher risk of contracting a deadly form of tuberculosis if given the widely used BCG vaccine, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. The study, which was published Wednesday in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, recommends "not vaccinating babies with HIV and delaying vaccination for those babies whose HIV status is unknown," writes the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer (7/1). Research Identifies Why People With HIV Are More Likely To Develop TB Researchers recently identified why people who have HIV/AIDS are more susceptible to getting tuberculosis, the ANI/Times of India reports. The research, which is published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, explains how HIV interferes with the lungs" cellular and molecular mechanisms used to fight TB. According to one of the scientists, this new information could lead to the development of new drugs to treat or prevent TB in HIV-positive people (7/1). VOA News Examines Nothing But Nets Campaign VOA News examines the U.N. Foundation"s campaign Nothing But Nets that is "devoted entirely to raising money to purchase bed nets." The "widespread use" of long-lasting, insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) can reduce transmission of malaria by up to 90 percent, VOA News writes. Recently, the campaign partnered with the U.N. High Commission on Refugees to distribute ITNs in refugee camps. In addition, Nothing But Nets "has remained strong, even in a troubled economy," writes VOA News (Hegg, 6/30). BMJ Examines Health Care System Of DRC, Estimates Of 1,500 Deaths Daily British Medical Journal examines how a broken health system is exacerbating the health conditions of vulnerable people living in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, leading to the deaths of some 1,500 people per day. The article also explores the recent efforts of the U.N. to make health services in the region free (Zarocostas, 6/30). This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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