From io9, should we eliminate the human ability to feel pain? An interview with David Pearce, author of The Hedonistic Imperative, an influential online manifesto that urged the use of biotechnology to abolish suffering throughout the living world. John Cottingham on how the Swiss euthanasia clinic Dignitas claims to respect its patients' dignity, but secularism alone cannot confer moral value on human life. Dennis Trinkle reviews The Philosophical Foundations of Modern Medicine by Keekok Lee. From NYRB, may doctors help you to die? Marcia Angell wonders. Patient, heal thyself: Cutting-edge research in regenerative medicine suggests that the future of health care may lie in getting the body to grow new parts and heal itself. Edward Larkin reviews The Creative Destruction of Medicine: How the Digital Revolution Will Create Better Health Care by Eric Topol. The human microbiome: Looking at human beings as ecosystems that contain many collaborating and competing species could change the practice of medicine. How can bioscience push the limits of lifespan? We may be closer than most realize to significant increases in life expectancy. Cryonics photos delve into the frozen world of the immortality faithful.
