Short Course: Human enhancements pose ethical dilemma

Human enhancements pose ethical dilemma

LONDON: Retinal implants to help pilots see at night, stimulant drugs to keep surgeons alert and steady handed, cognitive enhancers to focus the minds of executives for a big speech or presentation. Medical advances are bringing human enhancements into work but with them, according to a report by British experts, come not only the potential to help society and boost productivity, but also a range of ethical dilemmas. "while such developments may benefit society in important ways, such as by boosting workforce productivity, their use also has significant policy implications to be considered by employers and workers," said Genevra Richardson, a professor of law at Kings College London and one of the authors of the report.

Statins may be linked to cancer survival

NEW YORK: Danish cancer patients taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs were 15 per cent less likely to die, of cancer or any other cause, than patients who were not on the popular medications, in a new study. The pattern held regardless of a person's age, cancer type, tumour size or whether it had spread. Only patients who had received chemotherapy showed no apparent benefit from taking statins - the most commonly-prescribed drugs in the world. Eric Jacobs, a researcher at the American Cancer Society who was not involved in the new work, called the findings "intriguing and exciting" but said they "do not mean that people with cancer should start using statins in the hopes of improving their progress."

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