Biotech Ethics BLOG
This blog is about ethical issues in the biotechnology industry. That includes all 3 main areas of that industry: health biotech, food biotech, and industrial biotech. (The last two are particularly important, and don't get enough attention.)
Unlike my Business Ethics Blog, this one will focus on aggregating information, rather than offering much commentary.
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Category Archives: regulation
Pausing Bird Flu Studies
Breaking news, from Nature: the principle investigators of the recent avian flu transmission studies (along with a couple of dozen co-authors) have publicly vowed to “pause” their research for 60 days. What’a really interesting, though, are their reasons. They want … Continue reading
Posted in dual-use, ethics, health, regulation, risk, virology
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GM Alfalfa: “Approved” or “Deregulated”?
The US Department of Agriculture has issued a decision allowing widespread planting of genetically modified alfalfa. See this article, by Andrew Pollack for the NYT: U.S. Approves Genetically Modified Alfalfa Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Thursday that he would … Continue reading
Posted in agriculture, GMO, regulation
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Canada’s Proposed “Bill C-474”
A “private members bill” currently before Canada’s parliament will, if passed, require that “an analysis of potential harm to export markets be conducted before the sale of any new genetically engineered seed is permitted” in Canada. (FYI, a bill that … Continue reading
Posted in agriculture, GMO, regulation, risk
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Synthetic Biology: Ready, Set, Go!
By Andrew Pollack, for the NYT: U.S. Bioethics Commission Gives Green Light to Synthetic Biology The president’s bioethics commission says there is no need to temporarily halt research or to impose new regulations on the controversial new field known as … Continue reading
Posted in ethics, regulation, synthetic biology
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Ethics, Policy, and Synthetic Biology
By Jef Akst, writing for The Scientist: Q&A: Ethics chair on synthetic biology The Scientist spoke with chair Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania, about the commission’s conclusions that, despite the potential risks of creating synthetic organisms, the … Continue reading
Posted in ethics, regulation, risk, synthetic biology
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No Decision About GM Salmon
Given the controversy over AquaBounty’s GM salmon, I can only assume this headline is sarcastic: By Kim Carollo, for ABC News, Surprise: FDA Panel Unable to Reach Conclusion on Genetically Modified Salmon After two days of hearings, several members of … Continue reading
Posted in ethics, GMO, regulation
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DTC Genetic Tests: Justifying Regulation
Regulation and ethics aren’t the same thing. But when done properly, good regulation is rooted in good ethical reasons. If we want to think in a constructive way about existing or potential regulations, we need to consider the values and … Continue reading
Posted in ethics, genes, genetic testing, regulation
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The Death of the UK’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Agency
Government involvement in biotech takes many forms, and government agencies take a variety of shapes and play a range of roles. Direct regulation — setting standards, prohibiting this and that — is not the only option. So when evaluating the … Continue reading
Posted in embryos, Europe, IVF, regulation
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Biotech Ethics 