Tuesday 4 October 2016

Big step forward in medicine

What I found in the news

In"Medicine Nobel for cell recycling work", Dr. Yoshinori Ohsumi recieved the Nobel prize by identify genes that cause autophagy(2016). Autophagy or "self eating" is a normal mechanism of body to get rid of its own cells in order to survive in difficult situations such as infection or starvation. His finding  helps to understand more about some diseases such as Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease and cancer and also gives opportunities to cure this illnesses.
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My response
This article shows a big step of medical advancements and it is also a good news for people who are suffering from that diseases. I think a development of science in medical field will never stop because people always search for a way to extend life, moreover, some people strive for immortality.

For a couple of year, I heard a about "Cryonics" This method will preserve a body of people who can not be cure by modern medicine in very low temperature, with hope that future technology will bring the dead back to life. It maybe sounds strange but from "This Company Will Freeze Your Dead Body for $200,000", there is a company that provide this method for people who interest in.

Moreover, few months ago, I heard about "head transplant" that Italian surgeon plan to cut off disabled man's head and put it on new body.

I can't say that this methods are right or wrong but I think we should concern about ethics

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Reference
Michelle Roberts (2016, October 3) Medicine Nobel for cell recycling work. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/health-37540927


ZACK GUZMAN (2016, April 26) This Company Will Freeze Your Dead Body for $200,000. NBC NEWS. Retrieved from  http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovation/company-will-freeze-your-dead-body-200-000-n562551

6 comments:

  1. Even though technologies of medication were developed very fast but nowsdays nobody can't make people are immortal just can extend people's life and I think it's probably better than people can be immortal.

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  2. I'm always happy and excited when I read the articles about the discovery in medical field, it means at least some people will be released from their pains. That is one reason that I want to study computational biology which I think computer sciences play the important role in medication.

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  3. Ethics is a big concern that prompted my last choice of news story to blog - the morally evil drug wars of people like Duterte and Thaksin.

    But what are the ethical problems with head transplants or cryonics? And now that I think of it, what about other organ transplants? Should there be markets in organs like kidneys so that poor people can sell a spare to rich people? I guess heart transplants are a bit more complex, but even there, if an adult makes a decision to sell her heart, shouldn't that decision be respected?

    Aon's post raises some interesting questions. I wish he had enlarged on the idea in the last sentence. But I'm sure it's coming soon in a comment or reply.

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  4. In my opinion, head transplant will face with a ethical problem because many scientists say that this method is extremely dangerous and scientifically impossible. Moreover, if this method was successful, It would be a question that "What is a personhood? Head or body".

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    Replies
    1. I think everyone would agree that persons inhabit heads, not bodies. But we also need to remember that the head is not the person. Today, I think persons are still bodies, although that might change as technology advances.

      Even if the head transplant, which is really a body transplant, is impossible today, I think it's useful to imagine the situation. It can help us clarify our ideas about Aon's questions: what is a person? Is it unethical to do something very dangerous? Even if the person agrees to do it? (And why should other people have a greater right to make decisions about a person's life than that person?)

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  5. I'm glad that we found one step closer to the opportunity of curing cancer. I lost my grandparents from cancer and I wish one day we can find the solution to get rid of it.

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