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Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues in the Earth BioGenome Project
Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues in the Earth BioGenome Project
The Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) is an audacious endeavor to obtain whole-genome sequences of representatives from all eukaryotic species on Earth. In addition to the project's technical and organizational challenges, it also faces complicated ethical, legal, and social issues. This paper, from members of the EBP's Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) Committee, catalogs these ELSI concerns arising from EBP. These include legal issues, such as sample collection and permitting; the applicability of international treaties, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol; intellectual property; sample accessioning; and biosecurity and ethical issues, such as sampling from the territories of Indigenous peoples and local communities, the protection of endangered species, and cross-border collections, among several others. We also comment on the intersection of digital sequence information and data rights. More broadly, this list of ethical, legal, and social issues for large-scale genomic sequencing projects may be useful in the consideration of ethical frameworks for future projects. While we do not-and cannot-provide simple, overarching solutions for all the issues raised here, we conclude our perspective by beginning to chart a path forward for EBP's work. There are no data underlying this work.
Has Biden Followed the Science? What Researchers Say
As the US president's first year in office ends, Nature assesses whether he's kept his promise to make evidence-based decisions.
U.S. Science No Longer Leads the World. Here's How Top Advisers Say the Nation Should Respond
U.S. Science No Longer Leads the World. Here's How Top Advisers Say the Nation Should Respond
Growing competition means U.S. must decide where to excel.
Stories of Intentional Action Mobilise Climate Policy Support and Action Intentions
Stories of Intentional Action Mobilise Climate Policy Support and Action Intentions
What makes a climate story effective? Narrating intentional, rather than unintentional, pro-environmental action can enhance readers' climate policy support and intentions to perform pro-environmental action.
Office of Science and Technology Policy is Advancing New Scientific Integrity Principles
Office of Science and Technology Policy is Advancing New Scientific Integrity Principles
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is advancing five new principles for protecting scientific integrity, with an eye toward guarding against political interference across federal agencies.
How Does an Underwater Volcano Form?
Most volcanic activity happens beneath the ocean - but we often don't know about it. This article looks at how underwater volcanoes form and what happens when they erupt.
Elsevier's ScienceDirect As Content Supercontinent?
Does today's news of Wiley etc. syndicating to ScienceDirect mean Elsevier is developing a supercontinent to compete with ResearchGate and Google Scholar?
Barriers to Full Participation in the Open Science Life Cycle among Early Career Researchers
Barriers to Full Participation in the Open Science Life Cycle among Early Career Researchers
Early career researchers (ECRs) will play a key role in transitioning the scientific community to more widespread use of Open Science from pre-registration to publication, but they also face unique challenges in adopting these practices.
Germany Commissions World Leading Computer As It Eyes Quantum Leadership
Germany Commissions World Leading Computer As It Eyes Quantum Leadership
Germany's Jülich Supercomputing Centre has added a quantum computer to its existing high performance computing infrastructure, enabling the centre to get involved in practical applications of quantum computing at a very early stage, as the technology moves out the lab and into commercial use.
Three Frames for Innovation Policy: R&D, Systems of Innovation and Transformative Change
Three Frames for Innovation Policy: R&D, Systems of Innovation and Transformative Change
Science, technology and innovation (STI) policy is shaped by persistent framings that arise from historical context.
Owning, Not Doing: My Transition from Master's to PhD Student
Yuning Wang learned to rely less on her supervisor's guidance during her doctoral programme, an important step on the road to research autonomy.
Polish COVID Advisers Quit over Lack of Science Influence on Policy
Thirteen of the 17 members of Poland's Medical Council advising the prime minister on COVID-19 resigned on Friday, condemning what they said was a lack of scientific influence on policy.
What Happened when People in This Upstate New York Town Started Getting Monthly $500 Checks
Astronomical Anniversary: Johannes Kepler's Legacy
Astronomer Johannes Kepler was born 450 years ago, on December 27. His discoveries have shaped our understanding of the planets and the way satellites orbit Earth.
Face Masks Make People Look More Attractive, Study Finds
Images of men wearing a blue medical face mask perceived as being the most attractive.
A Remote Lecture Series Roadmap to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in STEM
Within a year of the shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual meetings transformed from an auxiliary service to an essential work platform for hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Universities rapidly accelerated adoption of virtual platforms for remote conferences, classes, and seminars amidst a second crisis testing institutional commitment to the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion. To address these concerns, we began the Diversity and Science Lecture series (DASL), a cross-institutional national platform where junior life scientists present personal stories, professional progress, and advice for their peers.
Virtually the Same? Evaluating the Effectiveness of Remote Undergraduate Research Experiences
Virtually the Same? Evaluating the Effectiveness of Remote Undergraduate Research Experiences
In-person undergraduate research experiences (UREs) promote students' integration into careers in life science research. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted institutions hosting summer URE programs to offer them remotely, raising questions about whether undergraduates who participate in remote research can experience scientific integration.
Study Examines Diversity in Research Publishing
Science is often seen as a meritocracy, where the best work rises to the top along with the researchers who shepherd those advances. A new study tests that premise at the intersection of race and gender and finds cracks in that façade.
The Role of Collegiality in Academic Review, Promotion, and Tenure
Review, promotion, and tenure (RPT) processes at universities typically assess candidates along three dimensions: research, teaching, and service. In recent years, some have argued for the inclusion of a controversial fourth criterion: collegiality.
Capabilities for Transdisciplinary Research
Current programme evaluations do not adequately measure the skills and characteristics of individuals and collectives doing transdisciplinary research.
Weaving Indigenous Knowledge into the Scientific Method
Scientists and funders with close links to local communities outline how Western teams can collaborate fairly and effectively with those groups.
Back in Person, Back to the Races
Young scientists provide advice to a researcher, who feels left behind after a difficult pandemic experience.
Research Evaluation Needs to Change with the Times
The focus on a narrow set of metrics leads to a lack of diversity in the types of leader and institution that win funding.
European Innovation Council Fund is Yet to Start Giving out Money
Start-ups and SMEs promised equity funding by the European Innovation Council (EIC) will have to wait "a number of months into 2022" for the financing, as the European Commission struggles with setting up the fund under Horizon Europe.
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