Yes, there are pros and cons of this new reproductive technology. But there are many other issues about maternal and child health we need to tackle first.
CRISPR technology is continually improving to make it more specific, but serious consideration should be given to when and how CRISPR is safe for gene editing.
Deliberately infecting people with a disease-causing agent as part of carefully considered medical research can be ethically acceptable or even necessary.
Judy Illes, University of British Columbia and Jennifer Chandler, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
With increasing technological innovations in neuroscience, the field of neuroethics grows in relevance - especially when it comes to informing applications and policy.
The debate over Mr. Vincent Lambert’s decision to discontinue his care overshadowed equally important judicial and ethical issues. A look back at a complex situation that will set a precedent.
Scientists and ethicists have called for a five-year moratorium on editing human genes that will pass on to future generations. Yes, society needs to figure out how to proceed – but is this the best way?
Because genetic changes that cause cause health complications can be hereditary, the information affects not only the person with the mutation but also their biological relatives.
Genome editing technology has, and will always have, limits. Limits that are related not to the technology itself but to the intrinsic complexity of the human genome.
Research shows therapeutic psilocybin to be a safe and effective antidote to end-of-life anxiety and depression. Does prohibition therefore violate our right to “life, liberty and security?”
Science is creating new living matter – like stem cells grown to create brain tissues in the lab. With power comes responsibility and what matters is an ethical question, not a scientific one.
Microplastics are everywhere–our water, soil, and even the air we breathe. The consequences of this exposure on human health is unknown. But studies in animals give us reason to worry.
If we want My Health Record data to be made available for medical research we need to make it opt in, not opt out. We’ll have a smaller dataset, but at least it will be ethically defensible.
Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford
Professor of Bioethics & Medicine, Sydney Health Ethics, Haematologist/BMT Physician, Royal North Shore Hospital and Director, Praxis Australia, University of Sydney
Paediatrician at the Royal Childrens Hospital and Associate Professor and Clinician Scientist, University of Melbourne and MCRI, Murdoch Children's Research Institute