BIOETHICS
As Advanced Cell Technology Inc. receives approval from British authorities to conduct a human embryonic stem cell study in the U.K., Jonathan D. Moreno reminds us that such research can be a long, tiring slog.
BIOPOLITICS
Even in an election cycle that is dominated by the economy, feelings about cultural issues continue to be the most raw, especially where the power of modern medical science seems to conflict with tradition values. Welcome to the era of biopolitics.
NATIONAL SECURITY AND BIOETHICS
The CIA’s phony “hepatitis immunization” DNA gathering campaign in Abbottabad undermines not only U.S.-Pakistan relations but also the global polio eradication program and potentially our own public health.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
An appellate court reinstated Myriad Genetics exclusive rights to research two cancer-linked genes, leaving others researching these genes out in the cold.
STEM CELL RESEARCH
Stem cell researchers around the country can finally go back to work knowing their jobs are safe now that the ruling prohibiting federal funding for embryonic stem cell research has been reversed.
BIOETHICS
As prenatal screening for both medical and nonmedical traits becomes a serious possibility, we walk a moral tightrope between letting parents choose and upholding our societal standards of tolerance.
STEM CELL RESEARCH
The hype surrounding the completion of the first synthetic organ transplant constructed from the patient’s own stem cells might obscure what we can really learn from this accomplishment: the continued need for support for research in the life sciences.
GLOBAL HEALTH
Innovation in technology has the potential to bring health care services to resource-limited parts of the world, but grant writers often overlook basic local challenges.
GENOMIC RESEARCH
Only by making sure that every community’s voice is heard, can we be sure that personalized genetic medicine will truly be personalized.
GENOMICS
Personalized medicine holds great potential to improve the efficacy and reduce the costs of care, but there are major hurdles to ensuring access to this new form of medicine is open to all.
BIOETHICS
A political alliance of bioprogessives on the left and the right can share a commitment to the continued growth of knowledge as a basic humanistic value, the desire to use knowledge as a force for innovation, and an appreciation of innovation as a source of new wealth.
BIOETHICS
When making decisions about the future direction of stem cell research, we need to look past conflicts of interest and focus on what the science says.
BIOETHICS
The first ever human recipient of a stem cell transplant and the three-judge panel that recently reversed the ban on federal stem cell funding both had to rely on their own best angels in the absence of absolutes.
STEM CELL RESEARCH
A Divided D.C. Circuit panel reversed Judge Lamberth’s decision to ban federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. It appears very likely, if not entirely certain, that stem cell research will ultimately be upheld against future challenges.
GENOMICS AND THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
The marriage between biology and computer science is changing the scientific method: Collect the data first, figure out what you’re searching for later. Scientific cultures are clashing and it may be influencing who gets grant funding.
BIOETHICS
A new approach to testing the genes of early-stage fetuses could radically alter the experience of pregnancy and parenting from as early as five weeks, leading to a potentially dangerous moral quandary.
BIOETHICS
The debate over embryonic stem cell research has been wrought with hype. Here are the top five over-hyped claims made by critics, and why they are wrong.
STEM CELL RESEARCH
Recent studies have found small errors in the DNA of stem cells used in research, but we shouldn’t jump to conclusions, says an author of one of the studies.
NEUROSCIENCE
Optogenetics opens the door to understanding how specific types of neurons contribute to brain function, but the ethics of using it in humans needs serious consideration.
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
Experts discuss the ethics of synthetic biology and emerging technology at the Center for American Progress
Science Progress and American Progress's Doing What Works project teamed up to produce a set of policy proposals that the Obama administration and Congress can adopt to reinvest in the building blocks of American science, innovation, and economic competitiveness. Read the overview of the five reports.
Science Progress proceeds from the propositions that scientific inquiry is among the finest expressions of human excellence, that it is a crucial source of human flourishing, a critical engine of economic growth, and must be dedicated to the common good. Scientific inquiry entails global responsibilities. It should lead to a more equitable, safer, and healthier future for all of humankind.