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Bioethics

Science, Technology and Values in Undergraduate Education

Michael Roth | Posted 12.14.2011 | College

Michael Roth

2011-12-14-Screenshot20111214at5.55.45PM.jpgWe are connecting our schools to the worlds of public life, the economy and the broader culture.

Bioart is Changing the World

Andy Miah | Posted 02.07.2012 | Arts

Andy Miah

In the end, if we are to experiment with creating new forms of life with synthetic biology, cloning and genetic modification, shouldn't we just admit that it is for little more than our own amusement, whether that is the amusement of our own existence, or that which we find in witnessing great art?

Children Who Glow? A Jewish Law Perspective On Reproductive Ethics

Mary J. Loftus | Posted 11.24.2011 | Religion

Mary J. Loftus

The centrally important question under Jewish law would be: Have we produced another healthy or healthier child?

Why I Hope Contagion Is Catching

Jonathan D. Moreno | Posted 11.19.2011 | Entertainment

Jonathan D. Moreno

Hollywood producer Steven Soderbergh in his latest film Contagion has done what few big-budget Hollywood filmmakers do. He has respected his viewers' intelligence.Contagion not only includes marquee stars, but also respects science.

"Ethically Impossible"

Amy Gutmann | Posted 11.14.2011 | Politics

Amy Gutmann

Yesterday, the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues delivered a report that details how from 1946-1948, a team of U.S. researchers intentionally infected more than 1,300 Guatemalans with sexually transmitted diseases.

Shocking Details Revealed About U.S. Medical Experiments

AP | By MIKE STOBBE | Posted 10.29.2011 | Politics

ATLANTA -- A presidential panel on Monday disclosed shocking new details of U.S. medical experiments done in Guatemala in the 1940s, including a decis...

Hans Jonas: The Most Inspiring Teacher That I Never Met

Rabbi Lawrence Troster | Posted 10.11.2011 | Religion

Rabbi Lawrence Troster

Hans Jonas was one of the most important 20th century Jewish philosophers. But within the Jewish community, he is virtually unknown.

Indiana Considers Sanctioning Animal Cruelty

Camilla Fox | Posted 07.08.2011 | Green

Camilla Fox

We've laid down the law that entertaining ourselves by pitting one animal against another in bloody combat is cruel and unethical. However, few Americans are aware that there is "entertainment" even nastier than dog or cockfighting.

10 Teachings On Judaism And The Environment

Rabbi Lawrence Troster | Posted 06.06.2011 | Religion

Rabbi Lawrence Troster

By putting God at the center of life, we see the sacred in everything and the natural world becomes a source of wonder and not only a resource for our use and abuse.

There's No Guarantee Against Unethical Medical Research

AP | MIKE STOBBE | Posted 05.25.2011 | Home

ATLANTA — Experts say that the kind of unethical medical studies that occurred half a century ago could still happen again despite more than 1,0...

Pill That Shapes Fetus Genitalia Cuts Chances Of Homosexuality In Girls

LA Times | Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times | Posted 11.17.2011 | Healthy Living

A prenatal pill for congenital adrenal hyperplasia to prevent ambiguous genitalia may reduce the chance that a female with the disorder will be gay. C...

On The Bridge: A Conversaton Between A Pro-Lifer And An Embryonic Stem Cell Researcher

Christine A. Scheller | Posted 05.25.2011 | Religion

Christine A. Scheller

I was a pro-lifer whose child had an incurable disease. What I wanted to know was: what would I do if hESCs could cure my child'sNeurofibromatosis?

The Human Centipede -- a Film Essay

Andy Miah | Posted 05.25.2011 | Entertainment

Andy Miah

What seems to be a simple case of morally dubious conduct reveals itself as an example that gets to the heart of the debate over the ethics of human enhancement.

Tempest in a Womb: What's Wrong With Preventing (Or Promoting) Homosexuality In Utero?

Jacob M. Appel | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics

Jacob M. Appel

A recent debate in the fields of bioethics surrounding novel treatments for an uncommon genetic disorder has raised the question: Is it ethical to attempt to predetermine the sexual orientation of one's children?

The Presidential Commission and Synthetic Biology

Michael Rugnetta | Posted 05.25.2011 | Technology

Michael Rugnetta

The promise of the field of synbio as a whole is that scientists will be able to employ this type of genome synthesis to create customized life forms for a wide array of purposes. The peril is exactly the same as the promise.

New Milestone in Genetic Testing

Michael Rugnetta | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics

Michael Rugnetta

Here is my latest article on the first study published by a Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing company: Defining the Boundaries of Genetic Testing N...

Are We Ready for Coed Hospital Rooms?

Jacob M. Appel | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics

Jacob M. Appel

Long emergency room stays are one of the most unpleasant and potentially dangerous aspects of healthcare delivery in most western nations. In recent ...

Reproductive Fraud? Sham Pregnancy Centers Face Pushback

Jacob M. Appel | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics

Jacob M. Appel

It's increasingly difficult to figure out which of the numerous organizations claiming to offer "reproductive health services" actually provide termination referrals and which are merely sham clinics established by right-wing religious activists.

Sexism and the Price of Eggs

Jacob M. Appel | Posted 11.17.2011 | Healthy Living

Jacob M. Appel

The most legitimate concern raised by supporters of caps on payments to egg "donors" is that charging fair value might price some would-be parents out of the marketplace.

Are Breasts a Right or a Privilege?

Jacob M. Appel | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics

Jacob M. Appel

It shouldn't matter whether breast enhancement for GID patients is a "core" medical necessity. What ought to matter is that a human being is suffering and the medical establishment has the technology and resources to help.

After St. Joseph's: Are Women Still Safe in Catholic Hospitals?

Jacob M. Appel | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics

Jacob M. Appel

Thomas J. Olmsted, the Catholic bishop of Phoenix, Arizona, has condemned and excommunicated a highly regarded nun who approved an abortion necessary to save a pregnant woman's life.

Scavenging for Organs: Why the Donor Famine Justifies A Radical Harvest

Jacob M. Appel | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics

Jacob M. Appel

18 Americans die every day while waiting for an organ transplant, yet the American political establishment has been unwilling to champion non-traditional methods of expanding the organ supply.

Fighting Science in the Name of God

Brad Hirschfield | Posted 05.25.2011 | Religion

Brad Hirschfield

It's quite sad to see people marshaling their faith in order to provide window dressing for a set of fears and hostilities which are about something altogether separate from faith.

Should Children Have A Right to Die?

Jacob M. Appel | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics

Jacob M. Appel

Pediatric aid-in-dying is coming out of the medical closet. In an era of parental rights and child welfare, maybe we are finally ready to grant suffering minors the right to die.

NASA's Wrong Stuff

Aysha Akhtar | Posted 05.25.2011 | Green

Aysha Akhtar

NASA's radiation experiments on monkeys have cost thousands of animals their lives and have provided hardly any useful information about the effects of space radiation on humans.