Survey Of Ethics And The Life Sciences

At the start of the twenty-first century, warnings have been raised in some quarters about how - by intent or by mishap - advances in biotechnology and related fields could aid the spread of disease. Science academics, medical organisations, governments, security analysts, and others are among those that have sought to raise concern. EDUCATION AND ETHICS IN THE LIFE SCIENCES examines a variety of attempts to bring greater awareness to security concerns associated with the life sciences. It identifies lessons from practical initiatives across a wide range of national contexts as well as more general reflections about education and ethics. The eighteen contributors bring together perspectives from a diverse range of fields - including politics, virology, sociology, ethics, security studies, microbiology, and medicine - as well as their experiences in universities, think tanks and government. In offering their assessment about what must be done and by whom, each chapter addresses a host of challenging practical and conceptual questions. EDUCATION AND ETHICS IN THE LIFE SCIENCES will be of interest to those planning and undertaking training activities in other areas. In asking how education and ethics are being made to matter in an emerging area of social unease, it will also be of interest to those with more general concerns about professional conduct.

This important volume covers ethics and integrity in health and life sciences research. It addresses concerns in gene editing, dual use and misuse of biotechnologies, big data and nutritional science in health and medicine, and covers attempts at ensuring ethical practices in such fields are shared internationally.

Does nature have intrinsic value? Should we be doing more to save wilderness and ocean ecosystems? What are our duties to future generations of humans? Do animals have rights? This revised edition of "Life Science Ethics" introduces these questions using narrative case studies on genetically modified foods, use of animals in research, nanotechnology, and global climate change, and then explores them in detail using essays written by nationally-recognized experts in the ethics field. Part I introduces ethics, the relationship of religion to ethics, how we assess ethical arguments, and a method ethicists use to reason about ethical theories. Part II demonstrates the relevance of ethical reasoning to the environment, land, farms, food, biotechnology, genetically modified foods, animals in agriculture and research, climate change, and nanotechnology. Part III presents case studies for the topics found in Part II.

This is the first systematically organised anthology on responsible conduct in scientific research aimed at students and practising researchers in the biological sciences. It has been designed in response to the increasing concern to teach graduate students about ethical issues in the biological sciences. The book contains classic essays and other published material and is carefully structured to explore a range of subjects: the qualifications for authorship; plagiarism; the use of human beings and animals in research; the norms of ethical conduct in science; scientific honesty and its relationship to gullibility and self-deception; ethical issues in laboratory work; the relation between science and society; the ethics of teaching and learning. The volume also provides insights into issues often not formally considered in graduate science education such as methods of scientific investigation, scientific paradigms and the creative process.

The same technologies that fuel scientific advances also pose potential risks-that the knowledge, tools, and techniques gained through legitimate biotechnology research could be misused to create biological weapons or for bioterrorism. This is often called the dual use dilemma of the life sciences. Yet even research with the greatest potential for misuse may offer significant benefits. Determining how to constrain the danger without harming essential scientific research is critical for national security as well as prosperity and well-being. This book discusses a 2007 survey of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) members in the life sciences about their knowledge of dual use issues and attitudes about their responsibilities to help mitigate the risks of misuse of their research. Overall, the results suggest that there may be considerable support for approaches to oversight that rely on measures that are developed and implemented by the scientific community itself. The responses also suggest that there is a need to clarify the scope of research activities of concern and to provide guidance about what actions scientists can take to reduce the risk that their research will be misused by those with malicious intent.

This book is a guide to the high ethical standards required to carry out research in the life sciences. It is designed mainly for beginning scientists such as medical and graduate students, but it will be useful for other researchers as well, perhaps as a reference work. It covers the standard topics such as human and animal experimentation, misconduct, conflicts of interest, confidentiality, data management, and mentoring. It also contains chapters on the new NIH guidelines to enhance reproducibility, and on co-worker ethics, a topic that is often overlooked. While this guide is not an extensive review of the literature, it does include many additional references for exploring a variety of topics further. This book is essential not only for complying with ethical standards, but also for producing the highest quality research results.

This is the second edition of a highly successful and well-received textbook on the responsible conduct of biomedical and health science research. It is aimed at faculty and graduate students in health science and biomedical science programs. In addition, those on National Institute of Health research grants, administrators at universities, and academic health centers will find it a useful resource. The major changes include new chapters providing overviews of each topic, several new published articles added to the readings, revised case studies as well as further readings and web addresses.