By Guido Cassinadri and Marcello Ienca Implantable brain-computer interfaces (iBCI) are implantable systems that record quantitative neural data and use them to deliver various responses such as therapeutic, diagnostic, or preventive interventions. BCIs have been used inter alia to predict seizures in epileptic patients by monitoring their neural data and either delivering electrical stimulation or […]
Category: Research Ethics
Interdisciplinary collaboration to identify and address ethical issues arising from the development of irreversible, high risk medical treatments
By Alex Harris & Frederic Gilbert. There are increasing numbers of clinical trials assessing high risk, irreversible treatments. While a clinical trial aims to assess the safety and efficacy of a clinical intervention, participants enrolled in trials of high risk, irreversible treatments may be left with significant ongoing or emerging burdens after exiting the trial. […]
Confronting ableism: Reflections on the ethical failings of academic health research
By Joanne Hunt and Charlotte Blease. Health research, much like healthcare, is often plagued by persistent ableism. These two issues are likely connected. Disabled people across the globe experience a multitude of institutional, physical and attitudinal barriers to healthcare. Beyond inaccessible clinical environments and equipment, people with disabilities are confronted with clinical ambivalence, discriminatory attitudes […]
“Ethics first” reform for medical research in China: from reactive to proactive
By Jingyi Xu, Zhongxuan Liu, Jiayou Shi, Yue Wang. The 2018 CRISPR-babies incident, involving the controversial editing of human genomes, significantly impacted China’s approach to the ethics governance in medical research. The event underscored the need for a shift from a reactive, post hoc framework to a more proactive and anticipatory model. As a global […]
Should the public health response to Nipah virus disease be like that of COVID-19?
By Tara Hurst, Tess Johnson, Euzebiusz Jamrozik, Phaikyeong Cheah and Michael Parker. Nipah virus made the international news recently for an outbreak in Kerala, India. This bat-borne virus has occurred seasonally in Bangladesh since the first outbreaks were identified in Malaysia and Singapore in 1998-1999 (Figure 1). The course of Nipah virus disease may be […]
Research by any other name: The case of MEURI
By G. Owen Schaefer. Sorting and categorization is a classic and sometimes entertaining parlor game. Is a taco a sandwich? Is a couch a chair? Are calculators computers? Other times, though, the stakes are higher, particularly when classification has moral or legal implications – such as the question of whether corporations are people, or whether […]
Reflections on a staff-student partnership: teachable moments in ethics
By Jennifer O’Neill. Context In early February 2022, my colleague and I embarked upon a programme of research examining our shared interest in patient healthcare involvement. As lecturers at the University of Glasgow School of Medicine, we identified a unique opportunity to establish a staff-student research partnership. The underlying rationale was that our student partners […]
Genetic research and the collective good: participants as leaders
By Ilaria Galasso and Susi Geiger. Medical ethics has long centered around the question of how to balance the public or common good with individual rights. Different approaches to ethics would prioritize different values in the context of medical research participation. Well-established moral principles provide solid arguments both for an obligation to participate in medical […]
Reflections on the misrepresentation of one’s work
By Richard B. Gibson. In 2020, I published an article called No Harm, No Foul? Body Integrity Identity Disorder and the Metaphysics of Grievous Bodily Harm. The piece highlights the lack of definitional clarity within English and Welsh criminal law regarding what harm is, arguing that the concept’s open to varying interpretations. It uses metaphysics […]
Diversity and inclusion initiatives for laboratory animals?
By Monika Piotrowska. Before the pandemic, an Italian colleague of mine from the biology department and his Polish wife would host elegant gatherings to celebrate the birthdays of their trilingual children. The adults would mingle around a large table that displayed an impressive array of gourmet delicacies while engaging in lively conversations. Occasionally we would […]