MetaFilter posts tagged with Biology and ethics

Genetic discrimination

homunculus — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 14:10:54 -0800

U.S. military practices genetic discrimination in denying benefits. "Those medically discharged with genetic diseases are left without disability or retirement benefits. Some are fighting back."

Life from scratch

charmston — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 17:28:19 -0800

Dr. Craig Venter, known for his role as a pioneer in the human genome project, has taken a major step towards creating life from scratch: transplanting the entire genome from one bacterium cell to another. Commence the ethics wars.

Coming soon to a cinema near you

Gyan — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 12:40:34 -0800

The Human Speechome Project - "A baby is to be monitored by a network of microphones and video cameras for 14 hours a day, 365 days a year, in an effort to unravel the seemingly miraculous process by which children acquire language.". Selected video clips. Paper (PDF, 750KB). To test hypotheses of how children learn, Prof Deb Roy's team at MIT will develop machine learning systems that “step into the shoes” of his son by processing the sights and sounds of three years of life at home. Total storage required: 1.4 petabytes.

GATTACA

Gyan — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 04:15:19 -0800

The Promise and Perils of Synthetic Biology

We no longer know what it means to be human,

Mr. Gunn — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 10:42:01 -0800

EMBO's report on Time and Aging (free access) contains an essay wherein the author, Karin Knorr Cetina, from the University of Konstanz, Germany, argues that death and aging used to be major issues that defined what it means to be human and helped us find our place in society by showing us the limits of what is possible to achieve as a human. With the advances in science, particularly biological advances in slowing aging and technological advances in extending human function, we no longer accept our fate. Instead of accepting that we all grow old and die so we should take our place in society, with the expectation that if we contribute, society will take care of us, too, we now have promises being made by science that death and aging are no longer inevitable. Where are we headed, then? If we can no longer find our place by finding the limits of achievement and accepting our place within them, how do we work as a collective?

Stem Cells - Rumor vs. Reality

daksya — Sun, 26 Jun 2005 23:04:08 -0800

Stem cell pioneer does a reality check

Stem cell research guidelines

homunculus — Tue, 03 May 2005 10:14:33 -0800

The National Academies have finally released suggested guidelines for research with embryonic stem cells and chimeras .