CURRENT RESEARCH
THEME ARCHIVES
SRT Neuroethics Working Group
Published: Mar 31, 2011
The SRT Project is currently running a working group looking at the subject of neuroethics. The group aims to produce a report for the General Assembly in 2012.
Synthetic Biology Report May 2010
Published: Nov 01, 2010
Major developments over the last sixty years in the fields of biology, physical sciences and engineering have contributed to the emergence of synthetic biology. Synthetic biology is concerned with artificial or unnatural living organisms or life. Life is a difficult concept, especially as we tend to think in terms of human or sentient life. However, in synthetic biology, life is considered in biochemical terms and is mostly concerned with some of the simplest forms of known life, such as bacteria and viruses.
Biotechnology Ethics
Published: Sep 03, 2001
Future technological developments concerning food, agriculture and the environment face a gulf of social legitimation from a sceptical public and media, in the wake of the crises of BSE, GM food, and foot and mouth disease in the UK. There is distrust of the bioindustry, the regulatory system and the assurances of Government. This paper examines agricultural biotechnology in terms of a social contract, assessing the conditions which would be necessary to re-establish a measure of public trust against a climate of suspicion. A vital factor is how far new shared visions can be found for future developments in this field.