news

High proportion of medical photographs from case reports was found on Google Images, raising ethical and policy concerns, study finds University of Calgary researchers are raising questions about ethics and individual patient privacy, after their research found a surprising majority of the medical photos they searched for were easily found on Google Images.

In the form of a scientific article published at the end of January in the journal Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, the team led by éric Racine , from the Université de Montréal, is proposing for the first time a formal definition of living ethics and its founding principles. In a creative, collaborative approach, this publication addresses the theoretical, methodological and practical frameworks that govern living ethics, as well as the factors that can hinder its implementation.

Bioethicist Dr Kathryn MacKay from Sydney Health Ethics discusses what the creation of synthetic human embryos using stem cells means for science, and what ethical issues it presents. Researchers have created synthetic human embryos using stem cells, according to media reports. Remarkably, these embryos have reportedly been created from embryonic stem cells, meaning they do not require sperm and ova.

New research, set in China, suggests that using masks for health reasons also leads people to behave more ethically. Since 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a global increase in the number of people wearing masks to limit the spread of illness. Now, new research co-authored by MIT scholars suggests that, in China at least, wearing masks also influences how people act.

Researchers at the University of Warwick and its partners have published a report. Data and Displacement: Assessing the Practical and Ethical Implications of Data-Driven Humanitarianism for Internally Displaced Persons in Camp-Like Settings reveals that, as new ways to collect data continue to grow, humanitarian actors need to improve ethical and operational data practices for internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Back to (previous) overview TU Delft's latest news Our society is digitising itself more and more. That offers opportunities, such as more efficient working, but it also raises many ethical questions - the sort of questions now being addressed by TU Delft's new Digital Ethics Centre. Together with government agencies and companies, the centre's researchers are looking at the ethical side of AI and digitalisation, such as fairness, safety and transparency, and seeking to develop the best solutions and applications.

Carnegie Mellon University has appointed Peter Spirtes head of the Department of Philosophy , effective July 1. "I am excited to work with Peter in this new role," said Richard Scheines , Bess Family Dean of the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences. "He is not only a founding member of what is acknowledged to be one of the best philosophy departments in the world, but also a scholar of enormous impact, a faculty member of remarkably sound judgment and a person of enormous integrity." Spirtes will succeed David Danks, who has served as department head since 2014.

Many countries are turning to digital aids to help manage the COVID-19 pandemic. ETH researchers are now pointing out the ethical challenges, that need to be taken into account and the issues that need careful consideration when planning, developing and implementing such tools. Handwashing, social distancing and mask wearing: all these measures have proven effective in the current COVID-19 pandemic - just as they were 100 years ago when the Spanish flu was raging throughout the world.

When people behave selfishly, they have a reliable ally to keep their self-image well-polished - their own memory. When asked to recall how generous they were in the past, selfish people tend to remember being more benevolent than they actually were, according to a series of experiments by Yale psychologists and economists at University of Zurich published April 29 Communications.

The Neue Zürcher Zeitung recently published a paper on the ethical challenges of digitisation written by Peter Seele, economist, philosopher and professor of business ethics at USI Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society and Dirk Helbing, professor of Computational Social Science at ETH Zurich.

Researchers have developed a new way to measure Machiavellianism - a personality type which has a tendency to exploit, deceive and distrust others. Rigorous statistical testing identified these master manipulators with 12 simple questions and experts found males scored higher than females. Lead authors Dr Conal Monaghan and Dr Boris Bizumic, from The Australian National University (ANU), said people with high Machiavellian or "high Mach" scores had consistent views and tactics across languages, cultures, and genders.

Research published today in the  Journal of Medical Ethics  found that the way informed consent is currently taken causes unnecessary 'nocebo' harms. The requirement of informed consent means that it is an ethical requirement to warn patients about risks of taking part in clinical trials. But recent research shows that the way in which patients are told about these risks can actually cause harm.

Recerca The interests of science, technology and society should not prevail over those of the individual. Guaranteeing this principle is one of the main tasks in the research ethics committees (CER), interdisciplinary collegiate bodies set by the law which analyse the scientific validity of research studies and its social value, and which study the rights and interests at stake.

Practice what you preach. Suit your actions to your words. Walk the talk. Hypocrisy is ingrained as a moral failing for most adults, but when do children learn to make the same distinction? According to a new study from University of Chicago psychologists, the shift seems to happen early in elementary school.

Clinical trials provide the cornerstone for evaluating the safety and efficacy of new drugs and therapies to treat disease. While trials are designed to follow established ethical and regulatory requirements, Alex John London , the Clara L. West Professor of Ethics and Philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University, said he believes there is room for improvement.

Nearly half (45%) of in-house lawyers have been asked to advise on an action with debatable ethics, according to research by UCL. The research, published in a new report ' Which way is the wind blowing? Understanding the moral compass of in-house legal counsel' also found that 39% of in-house lawyers had been asked to advise on something which was potentially illegal.

For many people who care for aging parents, one solution is a safe, responsible nursing home. But an increasingly common means of ensuring that safety - security cameras installed by relatives - may do more harm than good, says Clara Berridge , an assistant professor of social work at the University of Washington.

Beauty practices and standards are higher than ever with the pressure to achieve the 'perfect' body now becoming a moral imperative, suggests research published by the University of Birmingham. Professor Heather Widdows , University of Birmingham argues in her new book Perfect Me: Beauty as an Ethical Ideal , published by Princeton University Press, that beauty ideals are becoming shared ethical ideals by which we judge ourselves and others as 'good' or 'bad'.

A new study led by ANU has investigated the nature of a cosmic phenomenon that slows down star formation, which helps to ensure the Universe is a place where life can emerge. Lead researcher Dr Roland Crocker from the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics said the research team studied a particular way stars provide a counter-pressure to gravity that slows down the star-formation process.

A data-processing artifact may be responsible for evidence cited in a 2015 report that cold salty waters are responsible for forming seasonally dark streaks on the surface of Mars, according to a new study from Caltech.