JONATHAN HANKINS
Autore, Speaker
Home DNA Testing for all the Family
On 17th November 2009 home DNA testing kits went on over the counter sale for the first time in high street chemists in the UK. These kits allow the DNA testing of a child’s paternity and involve the taking of saliva from both the child and the ‘alleged father’s’ mouth (their terminology) and its analysis. ... Home DNA Testing for all the Family
2009 4mn
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An Ethics For Emerging Technologies
As a follow on from my previous introduction to synthetic biology posting I would like to take a look at the recent report entitled Ethical Issues in Synthetic Biology; a review of the debates. The report published in June 2009 is co-authored by Erik Parens, Josephine Johnston and Jacob Moses, all of The Hastings Center ... An Ethics For Emerging Technologies
2009 4mn
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Assisted suicide….. Painless?
On 23rd September 2009 the Director of Public Prosecutions in the UK published the ‘Interim Policy for Prosecutors in Respect of Cases of Assisted Suicide’. The publication of this interim report is the result of a law Lords ruling in the case of Debbie Purdy, a 46 year old sufferer of MS (Multiple Sclerosis). She ... Assisted suicide….. Painless?
2009 2mn
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A Little Ethical Light Reading for the holidays
Richard G Epstein works in the Department of Computer Science, West Chester University of PA, where he teaches courses on computer science, software engineering and computer security and ethics. His university home page provides access to some of his publications, and I would like to have a look at three of them. I should say ... A Little Ethical Light Reading for the holidays
2009 4mn
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Will Machines Outsmart Humans?
This week the New York Times published an interesting article entitled Scientists Worry That Machines May Outsmart Man, written by John Markoff, their Silicon Valley Reporter. The author sites a meeting that recently took place on February 25th 2009 in the Asilomar Conference Grounds on Monterey Bay in California between leading computer scientists, artificial intelligence ... Will Machines Outsmart Humans?
2009 5mn
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Oversights in Oversighting Nanotechnology
In this article I would like to follow up on my series of postings on nanotechnology by taking a look at the recent report entitled Oversight of Next Generation Nanotechnology written by J Clarence Davies and published by The Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars as part of their project on emerging nanotechnologies. The author ... Oversights in Oversighting Nanotechnology
2009 5mn
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An Introduction to Synthetic Biology
The first question must be what is synthetic biology? Variously touted as pertaining to the discipline of engineering, biology, genetics, nanotechnology or computing, the most common description is that of applying the concept of engineering to biological organisms. But what does that actually mean? In order to understand more about the techniques I would like ... An Introduction to Synthetic Biology
2009 4mn
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A look at The Hastings Center Bioethics Forum
For anybody interested in taking an overview of current debate on bioethics, the Hastings Center bioethics forum would be a good starting point. I say this not only because the forum hosts the Centre’s own bioethics blog, well informed and non partizan as ever, but also because it provides links to many other blogs addressing ... A look at The Hastings Center Bioethics Forum
2009 5mn
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COMMUNIA Conference 2009: Global Science & Economics of Knowledge-Sharing Institutions
The Second COMMUNIA International Conference entitled Global Science & Economics of Knowledge-Sharing Institutions takes place from Sunday 28th of June to Tuesday 30th of June 2009 in Turin, Italy. As an introduction to looking at some of the implications of and for knowledge-sharing I would like to take a look at the COMMUNIA website in ... COMMUNIA Conference 2009: Global Science & Economics of Knowledge-Sharing Institutions
2009 6mn
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Is ethics a branch of Politics?
Returning to take a more in-depth look at the work of The Hastings Center and its interest in bio-ethics, I would like to review their recent online and hardback publication entitled From Birth to Death and Bench to Clinic: The Hastings Center Bioethics Briefing Book for Journalists, Policymakers, and Campaigns. Reading this book I became ... Is ethics a branch of Politics?
2009 8mn
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A case study in scenario thinking
If we describe scenario thinking as a structured way of anticipating possibilities, it should be a part of a strategy geared towards innovating responsibly. In order to better understand its practitioners’ aims, as well as current methodologies and practices in use, one could take a look at a book entitled The Future of ICT in ... A case study in scenario thinking
2009 4mn
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Ethical Decision Making During A (Possible) Flu Pandemic
As a first introduction to the complex problems of bio-ethics and scenario planning I would like to signpost an article published in the bioethics forum of an interesting website run by The Hastings Centre, a non partisan research centre dedicated to bioethics and public interest issues that I will take a more in-depth look at ... Ethical Decision Making During A (Possible) Flu Pandemic
2009 4mn
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