Most people know that humans are animals, a primate species. Still, it is difficult to apply that knowledge directly to oneself: “I’m an animal”; “My parents are apes.” – Can you say it without feeling embarrassed and slightly dizzy? In a recent paper I explore this difficulty of “bringing home” an easily cited scientific fact: […]
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We have all heard of moody teenagers. Maybe we have them, or can remember being one. Recent research with my Australian colleagues suggests they may genuinely have more difficulty living with poor mental health than adults do. Specifically, compared to the general public aged 18+, they are more likely to view mental health related impairments […]
Continue readingWhy should scientists save their code keys as long as 20 years after they conducted their study, the Swedish Data Inspection Board apparently wonders. In its opinion to a proposed new Swedish law on research databases, it states that this seems too long a period of time. Yet, researchers judge that code keys need to […]
Continue readingThe first newsletter for 2015 from CRB and BBMRI.se is now available for reading: Biobank perspectives: current issues in biobank ethics and law The main news item, by Anna-Sara Lind, is about the still unclear status for a new European data protection regulation (intended to replace the old directive). You’ll also find items by Josepine […]
Continue readingIn the previous blog post I wrote about the tendency in today’s research to build common research platforms where data are stored and made open: available for future research, meta-analysis and critical scrutiny of published research. The tendency is supported at EU level, by bodies responsible for research. Simultaneously, it is obstructed at EU level, […]
Continue readingToday, I recommend reading about two major changes in current research. Both changes are reflected in the December issue of the newsletter: Biobank Sweden: the newsletter of BBMRI.se The changes concern researchers’ relation to their material. The first change has been discussed on the Ethics Blog. It is that samples and data that individual research […]
Continue readingHow does one become a Platonist; a person who believes in a world of pure ideas? This blog post tries to give an answer. If I were to use one word to sum up the character of everything that agitates people, it would be: normativity. As soon as we are engaged by someone’s hairstyle, […]
Continue readingThe finished result easily becomes a picture of the process of achieving it. For example: We hear a Beethoven symphony and think that the genius had this magnificent composition in his head. He just needed to write it down. As if the result existed from the beginning and only needed to be put on paper. […]
Continue readingThere are a few thousand diseases that you never heard the name of. They affect so few people and have no names in the common language. These diseases are usually called rare diseases (or orphan diseases). They often (but not always) have genetic origin. They often affect children, are disabling and can even be life-threatening, and […]
Continue readingDuring the autumn, Josepine Fernow and I selected texts from the Ethics Blog and compiled them into a book. Last week we had the book release! When blog posts end up on paper, in a book, they can be read like aphorisms: slower than when surfing the net. I hope that also the PDF version of […]
Continue readingTHE ETHICS BLOG
A research blog from the Centre for Research Ethics & Bioethics (CRB)
We write for researchers, healthcare staff, officials, politicians, patient organisations and anyone interested in ethics.
We comment on the research ethics and bioethics debate and discuss our own research. We address issues from current debates in the research community and in the press.
MEET THE EDITOR
Pär Segerdahl is editor of the Ethics Blog and Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Centre for Research Ethics & Bioethics.