How the Anthropocene is changing bioethics.

The complex challenges of the Anthropocene imply a careful reconsideration of the ethical boundaries of human morality and a heightened sensitivity to the interconnectedness among all living beings. This means that bioethics, traditionally anchored in interhuman relations within the healthcare domain, is called upon to broaden the scope of its operational horizon, encompassing issues related to interspecific relations, environmental health, sustainability, equitable distribution of natural resources, and responsibility for environmental damages. This article explores the intersection between the anthropocentric era and the ethical challenges arising from our increasing influence on the environment and other life forms with which we share the planet.

Psychotherapy, artificial intelligence and adolescents: ethical aspects.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly advanced in various domains, including its application in psychotherapy. AI-powered psychotherapy tools present promising solutions for increasing accessibility to mental health care. However, the integration of AI in psychotherapy raises significant ethical concerns that require thorough consideration and regulation to ensure ethical practice, patient safety, and data privacy.

Ethics in aquaculture: animal welfare and environmental sustainability.

In recent decades, also driven by the European Union, aquaculture has undergone significant development to meet the increasing demand for seafood products. However, the concentration of efforts and resources in the fishing industry raises complex ethical issues that have yet to be fully explored, concerning animal welfare, environmental impact, and social justice. Balancing economic interests with environmental and ethical concerns is a challenging yet crucial task to ensuring a sustainable future for aquaculture.

Integrating one health: exploring the global dialogue on bioethics.

Unesco's World Bioethics Day, whose theme this year is the protection of future generations, reveals the centrality of the concept of one-health, as the main way to guarantee a future for the planet seen as the common home of all living beings. The recent pandemic has sufficiently shown how animal health is linked to human health and how only the balance of the entire planet guarantees both. Living on earth as human beings, no longer blinded by the Anthropocene's arrogance, but conscious of having a fundamental responsibility for the health care and well-being of every species is the imperative that should guide scientific research, education and social life.

Elongated styloid process of an autopsied skull from the Cemetery of Santa Maria Maggiore in Vercelli, 18-19 century (Piedmont, northern Italy).

We discuss the coexistence of a postmortem cut and a pathological alteration, recorded on a skeleton belonging to an adult man that was discovered during the archaeological investigations of the cemetery of the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Vercelli (northern Italy, 18-19 century). The skull presents an oblique cleft, which from the top of the frontal bone bends towards the occipital, and the left styloid process is elongated compared to normal values (48 mm). The elongated styloid process is due to the ossification of the styloid ligament which has several possible causes.

Psyche and human thought from the anatomies of the past.

De Blasio's research focuses on the anthropology of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His investigations extend from criminalistics to ancient mummies, driven by his passion for archaeology and human history. He delves into the intricate relationship between anatomy and the human psyche, intertwining disciplines like archaeology, anthropology, and history.

Ethics and humanization of care: Reflections in the teaching of French institutional psychotherapy experience.

French institutional psychotherapy, developed by Jean Oury and his team at the Clinic de la Borde, has played a significant role in the evolution of psychotherapeutic practice, highlighting the importance of considering the institutional context as a determining factor in understanding and treating mental disorders. This innovative approach, based on recognition of asylums' pathogenic effects, has placed particular emphasis on the humanisation of treatment and the application of bioethical principles within psychiatric institutions. This article aims to investigate the key elements of French institutional psychotherapy, analysing its relationship with bioethics and its contribution to the humanisation of care.

Donation of the body and its parts in the construction of parenthood.

The developments of science and technology make possible today unprecedented exchanges of body parts by multiplying the figures and links that intervene in the process of building parenthood and generating significant ethical and judicial controversies. Body donation in the procreative field constitutes an anthropological and social phenomenon of increasing attention, which contributes to one of the most intimate and profound aspirations of the human being and which requires a careful evaluation of the various interests involved and a thorough reflection on the statute and characteristics of the parental bond. The interest of the child, the dignity of women and the quality of human relations are the parameters of this analysis and, at the same time, the perimeter of the judgment.

A Survey on Undergraduate Medical Students' Perception of COVID-19 Vaccination.

The objectives of this study were to obtain information on medical students' attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination and to identify the main barriers to its acceptance. We conducted an anonymous online survey on a sample of undergraduate medical students from one main Italian University. The questions were aimed at exploring their attitudes toward vaccination to prevent COVID-19, their perceptions of the risk/threat of COVID-19 and the factors associated with their attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination.

Overcoming doubt in vaccinations. The end justifies the means?

Controversies and skepticism about vaccination have existed as long as vaccination itself. Today and yesterday, the authority of religious leaders has a fundamental role to convince members of their congregations to accept or reject vaccination. Our contribution tells of the stratagem used by the Italian doctor Luigi Sacco to make the faithful lean towards the vaccination using their faith as a means.

BETWEEN MEDICINE AND FAITH. THE HISTORY OF THE ALLEGED BLESSED ALBERTO BESOZZI AND THE AUTHENTICITY OF HIS RELICS.

The monastery of Saint Catherine of Sasso was built overhanging the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore in the municipality of Leggiuno (VA). In particular, our paper concerns the relics housed in the Sacellum of the church of St. Caterina.

Five brains of alienated criminals. Neurological investigations of early twentieth century criminal anthropology.

Background: For the followers of criminal anthropology, during the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the association "anatomical anomaly - psyche anomaly" represented an immediate diagnostic tool to identify mental illness and consequently the tendency to become a criminal. In this article, we analyse a clinical report published in 1900 in which the author, Dr. Saporito, described five brains of alienated criminals from the Aversa asylum.

Big Data for Biomedical Education with a Focus on the COVID-19 Era: An Integrative Review of the Literature.

Medical education refers to education and training delivered to medical students in order to become a practitioner. In recent decades, medicine has been radically transformed by scientific and computational/digital advances-including the introduction of new information and communication technologies, the discovery of DNA, and the birth of genomics and post-genomics super-specialties (transcriptomics, proteomics, interactomics, and metabolomics/metabonomics, among others)-which contribute to the generation of an unprecedented amount of data, so-called 'big data'. While these are well-studied in fields such as medical research and methodology, translational medicine, and clinical practice, they remain overlooked and understudied in the field of medical education.

Development and Validation of a Questionnaire investigating the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Healthcare Workers in the Field of Anesthesiology concerning the Italian Law on Advance Healthcare Directives: a Pilot Study.

Advance healthcare directives are legal documents, in which the patient, foreseeing a potential loss of capacity and autonomy, makes in advance decisions regarding future care and, in particular, end-of-life arrangements. In Italy, advance healthcare directives  are regulated by the Law 219 of 22 December 2017. Objectives of the study were: i) to develop and validate a questionnaire dedicated to evaluate the knowledge of the Law in a sample of 98 anesthesiologists, and ii) to shed light on the process of health-related decision-making and its determinants (age, gender, doctor/training resident, religious beliefs).

The fate of stillborns. Perceptions from a historical, anthropological and bioethical reasoning.

Issues of disposal of fetal remains and related parental distress do not concern only the present. This contribution aims at offering a glimpse of what grieving management concerning perinatal death must have been in ancient times. The discussion of the topic of death and treatment of perinatal remains is based on historical, anthropological, and bioethical reasoning, in a dialogue that contributes to the current debate on fetal personhood.

The teaching of the History of Medicine in Italy: a path in progress.

Background: The increasing attention to the potential application of technology in medicine represents a dangerous warning in the direction of a reductionist approach. The academic system should therefore be strongly engaged to ensure even in medical practice the greatest enhancement of the human dimension. Targets: How much space is offered to the teaching of History of Medicine (HM) in Italian Universities? This work aims to answer this question through an in-depth analysis of the teaching plans of the degree courses in Medicine and Surgery (CLMC) activated in Italy.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Equal Access to Vaccines.

The COVID-19 pandemic has evidenced the chronic inequality that exists between populations and communities as regards global healthcare. Vaccination, an appropriate tool for the prevention of infection, should be guaranteed by means of proportionate interventions to defeat such inequality in populations and communities affected by a higher risk of infection. Equitable criteria of justice should be identified and applied with respect to access to vaccination and to the order in which it should be administered.

The Difficult Balance between Ensuring the Right of Nursing Home Residents to Communication and Their Safety.

The COVID-19 epidemic has had a profound impact on healthcare systems worldwide. The number of infections in nursing homes for the elderly particularly is significantly high, with a high mortality rate as a result. In order to contain infection risks for both residents and employees of such facilities, the Italian government passed emergency legislation during the initial stages of the pandemic to restrict outside visitor access.

Taking care of life: the new Italian law on post-mortem donation for study purposes, training and scientific research.

Anatomical dissection is considered a fundamental practice in the medical curriculum. Not only does it help students to familiarize themselves with the various bodily organs and to refine their surgical practice, it also fosters an attitude of awareness and respect towards death and the values of solidarity. On 10th February 2020, the Italian Parliament passed a new law entitled "Rules on the disposition of one's own body and post-mortem tissues for study purposes, training and scientific research".

Do certain rituals adapt to psychology or does psychology adapt to rites? Post mortem photography: the last "picture of life" in "death".

In death and mourning, why should we think that rites adapt to psychology and not vice-versa? Or believe that psychological workings grow into a rite or ritual? When analysing practices related to rites of passage, death emerges as a rupture - or breakage - of social status.

Study, conservation and exhibition of human remains: the need of a bioethical perspective.

Today, the recovery, study and exposition of archaeological human remains are subjected to new discussions. Human remains preserve a clear record of past life to later generations. These remains, even if dated hundreds or thousands of years ago, maintain their human dignity and force the community to reflect on the ethical issues related to their analysis, curation and display.

The Motion of the Italian National Bioethics Committee on Aggressive Treatment towards Children with Limited Life Expectancy.

The motion of the Italian National Bioethics Committee entitled "Aggressive treatment or therapeutic obstinacy on young children with limited life expectancy" comprises a premise that rejects therapeutic obstinacy and makes 12 recommendations. Recommendation no. 1 states the general rules: it ascribes a cardinal role to a shared care plan, it supports pain management therapy and pain relief, it opposes ineffective and disproportionate clinical treatment and defensive medicine.

Male circumcision: ritual, science and responsibility.

Introduction And Objectives: In Italy, four minors have died in the last year as a result of male circumcision (MC) procedures performed for cultural and religious reasons by unqualified persons in unhygienic conditions.

Results And Discussion: After illustrating the historical and ethical outlines of the moral admissibility of MC within a comparative perspective, we examine the features of the Italian healthcare system with particular regard both to the heterogeneity of services available in the various Regions and to the risks engendered by excluding MC from the public health setting.

Conclusion: In order to adequately safeguard public health, particularly that of minors, there is a pressing need for thorough discussion of whether the National Health Service should perform MC on minors free of charge or, at least, for a reduced fee.