By Rebecca Moore

Thought to be an artistic exploit or act of martyrdom, Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh severed his left ear after a psychotic episode in 1888. Van Gogh’s ear has never been recovered, with legends surrounding its mysterious disappearance. Only now with the capabilities of modern technology has the ear resurfaced.
In an effort to combine art and science, artist Diemut Strebe has reconstructed Vincent van Gogh’s ear. Using genetic material …

We’ve all seen and heard ads that begin with grim statistics:
“Every 10 minutes a new name appears on the organ transplant waiting list.”
“If you’re a woman, you have a 1 in 8 lifetime risk of breast cancer.”
“If you’re a man, you have a 1 in 6 chance of developing prostate cancer during your lifetime.”
But these statistics may be overly dramatic and conceal important truths. Robert H. Shmerling, M.D., of the …

The Philippine Red Cross is undertaking a nationwide organ donation campaign in an attempt to extend and save the lives of those who are on organ transplant waiting lists. Health Department records show that as of March 2014, 100,215 people are waiting for organs, and most of those individuals are dialysis patients. PRC Chairman Richard Gordon said that very few Filipinos elect to donate their organs as compared to other …

By Marc Beuttler

Dr. Stephen Beed, professor of medicine and critical care physician at Dalhousie University, responded yesterday to the growing debate on presumed consent policy in organ donation.After Nova Scotia’s health minister recently broached the topic in an effort to improve organ donation rates, Jaquelyn Shaw, a health researcher in Halifax, responded with an inflammatory piece on presumed consent that was “rife with factual errors”, according to Dr. Stephen Beed.
Beed …

By Caroline Song

In Belmont, MA, Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital researchers have found a way to create better therapies for Parkinson’s disease. Fetal dopamine cells are transplanted in the brains of individuals with Parkinson’s disease and remained healthy and functional for nearly 14 years. The transplanted cells were able to create connections and function as nerve cells. Further research showed that the transplants were uncorrupted in the brains of 5 patients upon …

By Caroline Song

On June 5, 2014 the scientists in Taiwan have found that intravenous injections of stem cells derived from human exfoliated deciduous tooth pulp (SHED) have a protective effect against brain damage from heat stroke in mice.
According to Dr. Ying-Chu Lin of the Kaohsiung Medical University School of Dentistry, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan -study lead author “Heat stroke deaths are increasing worldwide and heat stroke-induced brain injury is the third …

By Abrigul Lutfalieva

Human organ trafficking is one of the emerging issues in the globalizing world.
Almost all the facts about the illegal trade in organs is collected by criminal justice programs, security agencies, public health organizations and other informational sources, but despite that many countries are continuing to violate the existing law and regulations on organ trafficking.
The case in MEXICO CITY (AP) — Police in Mexico’s western state of Michoacan indicated …

By Raina Jain

The practice of micro-financing, which began in Bangladesh, has become a factor indirectly contributing to organ trafficking in the country. The initiative began as a means to provide loans to help small businesses succeed in Bangladesh. Although efforts were aimed to alleviate poverty, it has led to severe problems for Bangladeshis due to strict repayments and lack of regulation. These factors have led many Bangladeshis to borrow from …

By Caroline Song

Space Coast Daily reports on the efforts of Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) in his efforts to raise funding for kidney dialysis patients in an article titled, “Foot Prints’ Raised 35K for Kidney Dialysis Patients.” This is the third annual run of “Foot Prints in the Sand” Kidney Beach Walk in Cocoa Beach, Florida, presented by the National Kidney Foundation of Florida. This year Posey led the walk, and …

By Caroline Song

David McNamee writes for Medical News Today and recently published the piece “Students produce 3D-printed artificial kidney prototypes.” Chemical engineering students at the University of Connecticut (UConn) have harnessed 3D printing to develop prototypes for artificial kidneys. The idea is not unique to the students. Surgeons in Japan have used 3D printed kidneys for practice. Currently, the only treatments for renal disease are dialysis of an organ transplant. …