Research with human subjects:
One of the key requirements that researchers conducting studies with human subjects must meet is that they obtain the informed consent of the participating subjects (or of a parent or guardian, if the subject is not able to give informed...
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Posted on April 9, 2008 1:04 AM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Are data from cancer research supposed to help cancer patients or career-minded scientists?
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Posted on March 3, 2008 2:12 PM • 26 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
You've probably heard that UCLA scientist Edythe London, whose house was earlier vandalized to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars by animal rights activists, has once again been targeted. This time an incendiary device was left on her...
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Posted on February 14, 2008 7:19 PM • 34 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
In an earlier post, I looked at a research study by Nelson et al. [1] on how the cognitive development of young abandoned children in Romania was affected by being raised in institutional versus foster care conditions. Specifically, I examined...
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Posted on January 11, 2008 2:43 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
"Why don't they make a birth control pill for men?" There are important considerations from medical ethics that might explain why a birth control pill for men has not happened yet....
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Posted on January 10, 2008 10:00 AM • 14 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Could research on abandoned children be ethical? What if it leaves them in an institution?
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Posted on January 10, 2008 12:35 AM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Is there a good way to determine the effects of substances that are ubiquitous in our environment?
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Posted on July 18, 2007 6:28 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Last May, on my way back from a mini-conference in Stockholm, I had a long layover in Munich. Since major airports are now essentially shopping malls with parking for commercial jets, I used a little bit of that time...
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Posted on June 23, 2007 8:20 PM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
On this blog I occasionally note a major motion picture that is (tangentially) related to ethics in science, not to mention seeking your advice on my movie-viewing decisions (the votes are running 2 to 1 in favor of my watching...
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Posted on June 9, 2007 3:12 PM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Can we talk? Not so fast -- better ask the IRB first.
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Posted on April 27, 2007 7:34 PM • 15 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
If you submit an evil protocol, can you expect more than rejection?
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Posted on March 19, 2007 6:55 PM • 13 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
I finally saw The Constant Gardener this weekend. If your aim is to conduct your drug trials ethically, do not conduct them like the drug trials portrayed in the movie. I could entertain questions on specific details, but the scenario...
Posted on April 10, 2006 3:12 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The last two meetings of my ethics in science class have focused on some of the history of research with human subjects and on the changing statements of ethical principles or rules governing such experimentation. Looking at these statements (the...
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Posted on March 24, 2006 3:41 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
In comments to a pair of posts about research with animals, some issues that are germane to the subject of research with human subjects have come up. In particular, they raise the question of whether scientists ought to use results...
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Posted on March 22, 2006 4:09 PM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Janet D. Stemwedel (whose nom de blog is Dr. Free-Ride) is an assistant professor of philosophy at San Jose State University. Before becoming a philosopher, she earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry. Email her at dr.freeride@gmail.com.
