Scientists Talk Privately About Creating a Synthetic Human Genome
Scientists are now contemplating the fabrication of a human genome, meaning they would use chemicals to manufacture all the DNA contained in human chromosomes.
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Researchers just released profile data on 70,000 OkCupid users without permission
A group of researchers has released a data set on nearly 70,000 users of the online dating site OkCupid. The data dump breaks the cardinal rule of social science research ethics: It took identifiable personal data without permission.
China's bold push into genetically customized animals
New kinds of dogs, goats and monkeys are being made quickly, although scientists voice worries about ethics and whether the methods should be used on humans.
Bioethics accused of doing more harm than good
[3]Opinion piece that calls for bioethics to ‘get out of the way’ prompts self-reflection among ethicists.
Artificial intelligence experts call for ban
More than 1,000 artificial intelligence researchers have signed an open letter issued that calls for a ban on autonomous weapons that select and engage targets without human intervention.
Changing winds in science funding
Bias can taint scientific research, as conclusions are sensitive to the conscious and unconscious choices scientists make in study design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
New study reveals funders behind the climate change denial effort
A new study conducted by Drexel University environmental sociologist Robert J. Brulle, PhD, exposes the organizational underpinnings and funding behind the powerful climate change countermovement. This study marks the first peer-reviewed, comprehensive analysis ever conducted of the sources of funding that maintain the denial effort.
Glaxo says it will stop paying doctors to promote drugs
The British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline will no longer pay doctors to promote its products and will stop tying compensation of sales representatives to the number of prescriptions doctors write.
Scientific journals should stop trying to be exciting - and focus on being right
Scientists desperate to have an "impact" in their field are cherry-picking and misrepresenting their results. It's the natural result of a desperate scramble to publish. Science, according to a recent Nature article, is like Battleship. You fire shots into the dark and mostly miss your target.
3 ways to blow the whistle
Reporting suspicions of scientific fraud is rarely easy, but some paths are more effective than others.
Openness on animal research
Ca. 50 organisations involved with life science in the UK agreed to develop a Concordat that sets out how they will be more open about the ways in which they use animals in scientific, medical or veterinary research in the UK.
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