The case did prove the value of public pressure, experts say. But the withdrawal of the case does not mean that South Africans with AIDS will have access to cheap anti-retroviral therapy anytime soon. The British government moved Thursday to ease public fears about new gene technologies by announcing plans to outlaw human reproductive cloning and steps to prevent insurance companies from using genetic tests to limit coverage. At the same time, genetic tests for diseases such as breast cancer are to be made more readily available through the National Health Service. The genetics revolution has already begun.
Genetic advances can be a force for good, but that requires active preparation.
Just how Aletha Leigh Willis contracted amoeba Balamuthia, which is so unusual scientists discovered it only 11 years ago, remained a mystery last night. Doctors and health officials are scrambling to answer that question. I've never seen anything like this in my whole life. It is not science fiction to the experts, however. They say the disease caused by the amoeba quickly ravages the brain and is invariably fatal.