Hormone Releasing Intrauterine DevicesHormone releasing intrauterine devices or hormonal IUDs are contraceptive devices placed in a woman’s
uterus to prevent
pregnancy by continuously releasing a low dose of certain
hormones. Jouri Valter Tapani Luukkainen, a medical researcher at the University of Helsinki, introduced the first hormonal IUD in 1976. Luukkainen’s IUD was a plastic device shaped like a capital T.
William Thomas Astbury (1898–1961)William Thomas Astbury studied the structures of fibrous materials, including fabrics, proteins, and deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, in England during the twentieth century. Astbury employed X-ray crystallography, a technique in which scientists use X-rays to learn about the molecular structures of materials. Astbury worked at a time when scientists had not yet identified DNA’s structure or function in
genes, the genetic components responsible for how organisms develop and reproduce. He was one of the first scientists to use X-ray crystallography to study the structure of DNA. According to historians, Astbury helped establish the field of molecular biology as he connected microscopic changes in the structure of materials to changes in their large-scale properties.
“Use of <a href="/search?text=reproductive%20technology" title="" class="lexicon-term">reproductive technology</a> for sex selection for nonmedical reasons” (2015), by the Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive MedicineIn June 2015, the Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, or ASRM, published “Use of
reproductive technology for sex selection for nonmedical reasons” in
Fertility and Sterility. In the report, the Committee presents arguments for and against the use of
reproductive technology for sex selection for any reason besides avoiding sex-linked disorders, or genetic disorders that only affect a particular sex.
Plowman v. Fort Madison Community Hospital (2017)In June 2017, the Iowa Supreme Court decided the case
Plowman v. Fort Madison Community Hospital, or
Plowman v. FMCH, and ruled that women who gave birth to children with severe disabilities could sue for
wrongful birth in Iowa. Specifically, after
Plowman v. FMCH, a woman could sue for
wrongful birth if she believed that her physicians failed to disclose evidence of fetal abnormalities that may have prompted her to terminate the
pregnancy.
California <a href="/search?text=Proposition%2071" title="" class="lexicon-term">Proposition 71</a> (2004) The California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act, also called
Proposition 71, was a ballot
initiative proposed by California voters in 2004 to allocate three billion dollars of state
funds for stem cell research over ten years. Endorsed by California scientists and
patient-advocates, Prop 71 passed on 2 November 2004, amending the state constitution to make
stem cell research a constitutional right. In addition, Prop 71 led to the creation of the
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), in San Francisco, California to allocate
Studies of Thalidomide's Effects on Rodent Embryos from 1962-2008Editor's Note: This article was edited on June 5, 2019.
<a href="/search?text=Stephen%20Jay%20Gould" title="" class="lexicon-term">Stephen Jay Gould</a> (1941-2002)Stephen Jay Gould studied snail fossils and worked at
Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts during the latter half of the twentieth century. He contributed to philosophical, historical, and scientific ideas in paleontology, evolutionary theory, and developmental biology. Gould, with Niles Eldredge, proposed the theory of punctuated equilibrium, a view of
evolution by which species undergo long periods of stasis followed by rapid changes over relatively short periods instead of continually accumulating slow changes over millions of years.
