BIOLOGY BASICS
Beginning of Life
Smith, Angela. "The Human Person's Beginning: The Biological Evidence." Saint Gabriel Respect Life. www.stgabrielcarlisle.org.
Winn, Lauren. Essentials of Embryology. Pro-Vita Institute, St. Patrick Church. Audio. June 2015.
Cells
Parts of the Cell. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. www.unlockinglifescode.org. Video. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
Climate Change
Adapting to a Warmer World. BBC Newshour Extra. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03998gr. Audio. Retrieved Jan 30,2016.
"Taking Action on Climate Change." USCCB Discussion Guide for Laudato Si, On Care for Our Common Home. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
End of Life
Pontifical Academy of the Sciences. The Signs of Death. Vatican City, 2007.
Genes
The Animated Genome. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. www.unlockinglifescode.org. Video. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
Chromosomes and Genes. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. www.unlockinglifescode.org. Video. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
Collins, Francis. “The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief.” Veritas Forum. December 21,2010.
"DNA Basics: If All Cells in Body Have the Same DNA, Why do They Look Different?" http://genetics.thetech.org/ask/ask4. Mar 27, 2004.
Smith, Angela. "DNA: Form, Function, and Ethics." Saint Gabriel Respect Life. www.stgabrielcarlisle.org. March 2016.
Stem Cells
Khan, Sal. "Embryonic Stem Cells." Biotechnology. Khan Academy. www.khanacademy.org.
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
Chimeras (Human/Animal)
Technology
Kolata, Gina. "N.I.H. May Fund Human-Animal Stem Cell Research." New York Times. 4 Aug. 2016.
Reardon, Sara. "U.S. Agency to Lift Ban on Funding Human-Animal Hybrids." Nature. www.nature.com. 05 August 2016.
Smith, Angela. "Human/Animal Chimeras: Science. Ethics, and Politics." Saint Gabriel Respect Life. www.stgabrielcarlisle.org. 12 Aug 2016.
Stein, Rob. "In Search for Cures, Scientists Create Embryos That Are Both Animal and Human." All Things Considered. National Public Radio. www.npr.org. 18 May 2016.
Ethics
Pacholczyk, Fr. Tad. "Human Organs from Pigs: Is it Kosher?" Making Sense of Bioethics. Catholic Herald. 10 March 2016.
Smith, Angela. "Human/Animal Chimeras: Science. Ethics, and Politics." Saint Gabriel Respect Life. www.stgabrielcarlisle.org. 12 Aug 2016.
Cloning
Technology
How Cloning Works. www.cloninginformation.org. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
Ethics
Dignitatis Personae on Human Cloning. Summary by the Catholic News Agency
Genetic Manipulation: Human
Technology
"CRISPR: The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown," Nature. www.nature.com. Dec. 2015. Special collection of Nature articles addressing the functioning and ethical implications of the CRISPR DNA editing technology. Retrieved Jan.31, 2016.
"Editing the Human Genome." BBC Newshour Extra. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p038kk5d Audio. Retrieved Jan 30, 2016.
Kolata, Gina. "Chinese Scientists Edit Genes of Human Embryos, Raising Concerns." New York Times 23 April 2015.
Mariño-Ramírez, Dr. Leonardo. "Genetic Manipulation in Human History: Agriculture, GMOs, and Beyond." Pro-Vita Institute 2016: The Bioethics of Life. Saint Patrick Church. Video. 23 June 2016.
Odling-Smee, Lucy. "Genome Editing: 7 Facts About a Revolutionary Technology." Nature. www.nature.com. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
"Watch Science Writer Carl Zimmer Explain CRISPR in 90 Seconds." Business Insider. www.businessinsider.com. Video. January 2016.
Ethics
Dignitatis Personae on Human Genetic Manipulation. Summary by the Catholic News Agency
Dignitatis Personae on Human/Animal Hybridization and Using Biological Material of Illicit Origin. Summary by the Catholic News Agency
Doudna, Jennifer. We Can Now Edit Our DNA. But Let's Do it Wisely. Ted Talk. Nov. 12, 2015. Discoverer of the revolutionary CRISPR gene editing technology advises us to pause and consider the ethical issues involved in human genetic manipulation.
Mariño-Ramírez, Dr. Leonardo. "Genetic Manipulation in Human History: Agriculture, GMOs, and Beyond." Pro-Vita Institute 2016: The Bioethics of Life. Saint Patrick Church. Video. 23 June 2016.
Legality
Gene Therapy Legislation in the U.S. http://www.genetherapynet.com/united-states-of-america.html Retrieved Mar. 5, 2016.
Genetic Manipulation: Plants
Technology
Mariño-Ramírez, Dr. Leonardo. "Genetic Manipulation in Human History: Agriculture, GMOs, and Beyond." Pro-Vita Institute 2016: The Bioethics of Life. Saint Patrick Church. Video. 23 June 2016.
Overview of the Process of Plant Engineering. University of Nebraska. Retrieved Feb. 1, 2016.
Ethics
Mariño-Ramírez, Dr. Leonardo. "Genetic Manipulation in Human History: Agriculture, GMOs, and Beyond." Pro-Vita Institute 2016: The Bioethics of Life. Saint Patrick Church. Video. 23 June 2016.
Transgenic Plants for Food Security in the Context of Development. Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Vatican City, May 2009.
"Biotechnology Must Consider Ethics, Compassion, Says Cardinal Turkson." Catholic News Service. 23 Oct. 2013.
In Vitro Fertilization
Technology
"In Vitro Fertilization." Medline Plus. National Institutes of Health U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved Feb. 3, 2016.
Ethics
Dignitatis Personae on New Problems Concerning Procreation. Summary by the Catholic News Agency.
Stem Cells
Technology
"About Adult Stem Cells". Adult Stem Cells: Science and the Future of Man and Culture. Vatican City, 2011. Conference.
Declaration on the Production and the Scientific and Therapeutic Use of Human Embryonic Stem Cells. Pontifical Academy for Life. Vatican City, 25 Aug. 2000.
Khan, Sal. "Embryonic Stem Cells." Biotechnology. Khan Academy. www.khanacademy.org.
Statement of the Working Group on New Developments in Stem Cell Research: Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells and Their Possible Applications in Medicine. Extra Series 39. Vatican City, 2012.
Stem Cell Basics. National Institutes of Health. http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/Pages/Default.aspx Retrieved Jan.30, 2016.
Ethics
Dignitatis Personae on Stem Cells. Summary by the Catholic News Agency
Three Parent Embryos
Technology
Sample, Ian. "Three Person IVF: UK Government Backs Mitochondrial Transfer," The Guardian, June 28, 2013. Includes simple graphics explaining how different types of mitochondrial transfer work.
Tingley, Kim. "The Brave New World of Three-Parent I.V.F." New York Times. 27 June 2014.
Ethics
Pacholczyk, Fr. Tad. "Pondering the Implications of Three Parent Embryos." Making Sense of Bioethics. April 2015.
Pentin, Edward. "The Brave New World of Three- Parent Babies." National Catholic Register. 2 October 2013.
"Three Parent Babies Explained: What Are the Concerns and Why Are They Justified?" The Guardian. 2 February 2015.
HUMAN NATURE AND ORIGIN
Links
Gan, Eugene. "Artificial Intelligence Taking Over Humanity? Why Catholics Have Nothing to Fear." Aletia. www.aletia.org. 11 Dec. 2014.
Smith, Angela. "Answering Materialism: Does the Structure of the Brain Allow for Free Will?" Saint Gabriel Respect Life. www.stgabrielcarlisle.org. July 2015.
Smith, Angela. "Answering Materialism: The Intellectual Soul and Understanding Universals." Saint Gabriel Respect Life. www.stgabrielcarlisle.org. July 2015.
Spitzer, Fr. Robert. "Can you explain absolute determinism? Are all behaviors reducible to the laws of physics? Can human consciousness survive bodily death?" Larry King Live. Sept. 2010, video.
Spitzer, Fr. Robert. "Creation According to Physics and the Bible: Is There Really a Contradiction?" God and Modern Physics. www.magiscenter.com/reason/spitzer_videos_reas.html. April 2014, video.
Books
Barr, Stephen. Modern Physics and Ancient Faith. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame, 2003. Of particular interest is the section “What is Man?” where physicist Barr addresses free will and determinism, whether or not matter can understand, and how our minds differ from computers.
Fukuyama, Francis. Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution. New York: Picador, 2002. Current knowledge of brain science and genetics advances us toward the possibility of profoundly altering ourselves. What kinds of limits do we want to place on such alteration, and why? Fukuyama grounds us in the scientific, philosophical, and public policy understanding we will need in order to ask wise questions in order to make these decisions.
Pope Benedict XVI. "In the Beginning...": A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995. Four homilies explain the meaning of the Biblical story of the creation and the fall, and their congruence with scientific knowledge.
Suddendorf, Thomas. The Gap: The Science of What Separates Us from Other Animals. Basic Books, 2013. Psychologist Suddendorf draws on two decades of research on apes, children, and human evolution to explain what accounts for the difference between the superiority of the human mind over the animal mind. He cites the human ability to imagine abstract scenarios, and our desire to link minds, as key components.
MEDICAL QUESTIONS
Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section Two, Chapter Two, Article Five: The Fifth Commandment. www.vatican.va. Retrieved Feb. 1, 2016. Catholic Church teaching on respect for human life.
Smith, Jason. "Vaccines: Their Biology and Morality." Saint Gabriel Respect Life. www.stgabrielcarlisle.org. July 2015.
