Ethics
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Health apps send data without disclosure
Many health apps operate under dodgy privacy regimes.
Health-care professionals should reasonably assume that data from behaviour-changing apps will be “shared with commer...
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Conversation
What we risk if we allow gene-edited babies
Concerns extend beyond health and medical grounds.
A second woman is said to be pregnant with a gene-edited baby in China, according to reports this year. It follows re...
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Police and genealogy DNA may threaten privacy
Proof-of-concept study set to prompt debate around privacy.
Police in the US opened a can of worms – as well as making headlines – when they used data from a genealogy website t...
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Mice with two mums raise many questions
Bi-maternal reproduction may cross ethical boundaries.
Chinese researchers have bred healthy mice with two mums and no dads. They’ve had less success with dads alone, howev...
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US project may mask bioweapon development
Experiments may breach Biological Weapons Convention.
Insects could be used to spread infectious viruses that have been engineered to genetically modify food crops directl...
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Time to take race out of medical studies
Study into race in medicine finds little has changed in 200 years.
Nothing symbolises a fall from grace like having your statue toppled. Such was the case for Dr J. Marion Sims in Apri...
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Happiness paper not a joyous event
Paper was published without author's knowledge.
A paper on happiness has been withdrawn from publication after the author indicated she was unhappy with it. Academi...
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Journal's claims over Shroud of Turin retracted
Editors call research integrity into question.
A peer-reviewed journal paper that claimed to show the Shroud of Turin was originally wrapped around a man who had su...
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Australia’s research reputation at crossroads
Changes to code of research conduct endanger its reputation.
In 2018, Australia still does not have appropriate measures in place to maintain research integrity. And recent chang...
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Researcher disciplined for using own blood
Scientist claimed samples were from community members.
A US cancer researcher pretended that she had extracted blood samples from nearly 100 people when in reality they wer...
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Skeleton research prompts ethics concerns
Handling of strange remains was motivated by publicity.
A recent paper identifying a much talked-about 15-centimetre skeleton as human has come under fire from other researc...
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Half of evolutionary biologists fudge results
Study finds bio science faces a “replication crisis”.
In 2015, the world of psychology research was rocked when more than 100 scientists collaborated in an attempt to repr...