Bioethics Forum Essay
Are Arguments about GMO Safety Really About Something Else?
The scientific consensus that food containing genetically modified organisms is safe seems ever stronger, yet the social controversy about GMOs seems only to grow as well. “Unhealthy Fixation,” a long article published...Read “Are Arguments about GMO Safety Really About Something Else?”
Bioethics Forum Essay
On a Radioactive Pig and Pope Francis
“If you look through the red-tinted glass, you will see the radioactive pig,” said the director of animal laboratories at my university–let’s call her Susan–near the start of my tour...Bioethics Forum Essay
New in Skin Care: Natural and GMO
At the end of April, the biotech firm Amyris announced that it was launching its own line of skin emollient under the brand name Biossance. The product is based on...Bioethics Forum Essay
Sacred versus Synthetic? Nature Preservationism and Biotechnology
One of the long-term contributions of Earth Day is that it offers a regular, semi-official reminder that a sense of the sacred is a vital part of environmentalism. The spirit...Read “Sacred versus Synthetic? Nature Preservationism and Biotechnology”
Bioethics Forum Essay
A Moratorium on Gene Editing?
An article in the New York Times last week suggests that the genetic engineering of humans is only just around the corner. A recently developed gene editing tool known as...Bioethics Forum Essay
GM Mosquitoes: Risks and Emotions
For several years, a British company called Oxitec has been proposing a strategy for controlling a species of mosquito, Aedes aegypti, that humans have accidentally carried from Africa to other...Bioethics Forum Essay
Altering Nature to Preserve It
Perhaps the biggest challenge in talking about something like de-extinction is simply being clear on what it is you’re really talking about. Emerging technologies can be surrounded with so much...Bioethics Forum Essay
OHRP’s Dangerous Draft Guidance
In October, the federal Office for Human Research Protections issued a “Draft Guidance on Disclosing Reasonably Foreseeable Risks in Research Evaluating Standards of Care.” It follows the controversy that erupted in 2013...Bioethics Forum Essay
Nature Isn’t What It Used To Be
Is the end in sight for wilderness? A recent opinion piece in the New York Times, by the science journalist Christopher Solomon, says it is. “There’s a heresy echoing through America’s woods and...Bioethics Forum Essay
Synthetic Chromosomes
A team of scientists announced this week that it had successfully created one of the sixteen chromosomes found in yeast cells, marking a meaningful step forward in that part of...Bioethics Forum Essay
What’s at Stake with Genetically Modified Organisms
A remarkable set of essays appeared recently in Grist, a nonprofit dedicated to “dishing out environmental news and commentary,” about the warring claims over genetically modified organisms. In the inaugural piece last...Bioethics Forum Essay
De-Extinction: Could Technology Save Nature?
This past November, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature declared the western black rhinoceros of Africa, last seen in 2006, officially extinct. It also concluded that most other...Bioethics Forum Essay
Dr. Oz Can’t Afford Me
The first time the Dr. Oz show called me, I was simply too tired to deal. The story of Caster Semenya — the track athlete whose sex had been called...Bioethics Forum Essay
Australia’s Passport to Gender Confusion
Kudos to Australia for recognizing that some people might not be well served by a passport system that marks you only as either “M” or “F” and does so on...Bioethics Forum Essay
X Marks Evolution: The Benefits of the “Indeterminate Sex” Passport Designator
Australia passed legislation in September giving transgender and intersex passport holders the option to identify themselves with an X for “indeterminate sex.” Navi Pillay, the United Nation’s high commissioner for...Read “X Marks Evolution: The Benefits of the “Indeterminate Sex” Passport Designator”
Bioethics Forum Essay
Challenging Evolution?
We have long had the ability, we humans, to work outside the bounds of evolution. Dairy cattle, maize, and all sorts of dog breeds attest to that. It is unlikely...Bioethics Forum Essay
Being at Two with Nature and Mosquitoes
When Woody Allen said he was “at two with nature,” perhaps he had in mind insects that sting or bite. Who can argue with that, and who hasn’t taken a...Hastings Center News
“Off Ramps Rather than Barricades” in Governance of Emerging Technologies
Hastings Center research scholar Gregory Kaebnick is the lead author of an article in the November 11 issue of the journal Science that discusses the benefits of precautionary approaches to...Read ““Off Ramps Rather than Barricades” in Governance of Emerging Technologies”
Hastings Center News
Hastings Center Scholar Participates in Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate on De-Extinction
Seated on a stage with a museum model of a dodo and a pair of mammoth tusks, a panel of experts debated what is exciting and what is frightening about...Read “Hastings Center Scholar Participates in Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate on De-Extinction”
Hastings Center News
In New Frankenstein Edition, Hastings Scholar Asks, What Do We Owe Our Creations?
What do scientists and engineers owe to their creations? What responsibility do they bear for harms that their creations cause? How does being responsible for our creations change us? These...Read “In New Frankenstein Edition, Hastings Scholar Asks, What Do We Owe Our Creations?”
Hastings Center News
Is it Ethical to Use Genetic “Evolutionary Rescue” for Conservation?
Hastings Center research scholar Gregory Kaebnick participated in a multidisciplinary workshop at the University of Montana in Missoula on May 25 – 26 to examine the potential for using genome...Read “Is it Ethical to Use Genetic “Evolutionary Rescue” for Conservation?”
Bioethics Forum Essay
The Climate Agreement: Understanding, and Leveraging, Public Opinion
After years of fluctuating and troubled efforts, the nations of the world in December of 2015 came to the remarkable agreement to work together to reduce global warming. On June...Read “The Climate Agreement: Understanding, and Leveraging, Public Opinion”
Hastings Center News
Natalie Kofler: What Role Should Humans Play in “Editing Nature”?
Natalie Kofler, a postdoctoral research scientist at Yale University, visited The Hastings Center earlier this summer to explore the ethical questions surrounding the use of gene editing technologies in the...Read “Natalie Kofler: What Role Should Humans Play in “Editing Nature”?”
Bioethics Forum Essay
Fix the Planet, or Change the Creatures In It?
Possibly as many as half of the coral reefs that existed 100 years ago have been destroyed, sometimes by removing them, covering them up, or blowing them up, but mostly...Hastings Center News
Josephine Johnston Tackles Gene Editing in “Prestigious Speaker” Series
Using gene editing to modify genes responsible for devastating illnesses such as cystic fibrosis seems overwhelmingly desirable, but could there be unintended consequences? Might the ability to select for certain...Read “Josephine Johnston Tackles Gene Editing in “Prestigious Speaker” Series”
Hastings Center News
Hastings Center Genetics Symposium Draws Journalists from Around the World
Is there a parental obligation to create “better” babies? Now that scientists can genetically edit plants and animals for agricultural and other purposes, what can we learn from the longstanding...Read “Hastings Center Genetics Symposium Draws Journalists from Around the World”
Hastings Center News
Responsible Science in a Perilous Time: Hastings and Union of Concerned Scientists Join Forces
Climate change, nuclear proliferation, and the advancement of gene editing and other transformative biotechnologies pose enormous global challenges. How can we promote responsible science, good governance, and opportunities for public...Hastings Center News
Good Sport: Why Our Games Matter and How Doping Undermines Them
In the wake of Olympic doping scandals and just before the Winter Games in Pyeongchang in February, a new book by Hastings Center President Emeritus Thomas Murray explores the use...Read “Good Sport: Why Our Games Matter and How Doping Undermines Them”
Bioethics Forum Essay
Chimpanzees: Persons or Things?
Last month, a group of 17 North American philosophers (myself included) filed an amicus curiae brief with the New York State Court of Appeals on behalf of Kiko and Tommy,...Bioethics Forum Essay
Might Chimpanzees Have Legal Rights?
On May 8, the New York Court of Appeals denied an appeal to have two captive chimpanzees, Kiko and Tommy, recognized as legal persons with the right to bodily liberty...Hastings Center News
New Project: Public Deliberation on Gene Editing in the Wild
With funding from the National Science Foundation, a new Hastings Center project will examine the rationale and challenges of public deliberation on the release of genetically modified insects, mammals, and...Read “New Project: Public Deliberation on Gene Editing in the Wild”
Bioethics Forum Essay
Rationality as Understood by a Neanderthal
The new indie movie William explores the question, What would it be like if a Neanderthal were born and raised in a modern, industrialized society today?Bioethics Forum Essay
Caster Semenya and the Challenges of Sports Brackets
If virtuous perfection of natural talents is what sports is all about, sports needs more people like Caster Semenya, the South African runner. But she is now ineligible for competing in middle distance events unless she takes medication to suppress her naturally high testosterone levels. Is this fair?Bioethics Forum Essay
We Should Be Concerned About Athletes Having to ‘Dope Down’
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has decided that female athletes with atypically high levels of testosterone must take testosterone-lowering medication in order to compete in certain events. I'm troubled by the precedent this sets.Read “We Should Be Concerned About Athletes Having to ‘Dope Down’”
Hastings Center News
How Can Bioethics Help Mitigate Climate Change? Hastings Center Explores Options
How might bioethics help address the threats posed by climate change? A Hastings Center meeting scoped out the options.Read “How Can Bioethics Help Mitigate Climate Change? Hastings Center Explores Options”
Bioethics Forum Essay
Living Good and Healthy Lives on a Changing Earth: What Should Bioethics Do?
What does it mean to live well on a warming planet? And as the climate changes, how might health care, education, and other sectors support, or obstruct, our ability to respond? The answers to these profound, and profoundly bioethical, questions will critically influence human well-being in this century and beyond. A group of scientists, educators, and bioethicists convened at The Hastings Center recently to consider these questions and begin an interdisciplinary conversation on how bioethics might address the challenges posed by climate change.Read “Living Good and Healthy Lives on a Changing Earth: What Should Bioethics Do?”
Hastings Center News
Yes, We’re Animals: Why We Should Face Up to This Reality Now
In an age of new biotechnologies, from gene editing to neural enhancement, is there a tension in the idea that humans have special value because they’re somehow different or exceptional in nature? Dwelling on the idea that there’s something extraordinary about being human – and ignoring our kinship with life on our planet – is becoming a problem, says Melanie Challenger, an award-winning British writer and a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics who has been a visiting scholar at The Hastings Center in November.Read “Yes, We’re Animals: Why We Should Face Up to This Reality Now”
Bioethics Forum Essay
The Elephant from Heaven and the Chicken from Hell–or: Colossal Fantasies
I have always wanted to see a woolly mammoth. From the time I first read about them up until, well, a few moments ago, I’ve fantasized about going back in time to see a herd shoving its way through an Ice Age snowstorm. Alas, it cannot be, even if George Church and a new company, Colossus, bend heaven and earth to make it happen.Read “The Elephant from Heaven and the Chicken from Hell–or: Colossal Fantasies”
Bioethics Forum Essay
An Evergreen Metaphor: Strachan Donnelley, Dan Callahan, and Environmental Ethics
The devastation of Hurricane Ida and the global threats of climate change are not on the fringe of bioethics. They call to mind the language of priority-setting typical of bioethics discourse. Who lives and who dies? What can be accomplished with prevention and more levees? And if more are built, how do we set priorities with limited resources?Read “An Evergreen Metaphor: Strachan Donnelley, Dan Callahan, and Environmental Ethics”
From Bioethics Briefings
Climate Change
Framing the Issue No issue demands greater care in balancing benefits and risks than responding to the threat of global climate change. Data indicate that global surface temperatures have risen...Page
Project to Examine “Deliberate Extinction” of Species
October 4, 2023 – A new project at The Hastings Center will propose recommendations for deciding if especially dangerous species should be eradicated with gene editing technology. Candidate species could...Read “Project to Examine “Deliberate Extinction” of Species”