By making genetic research so much easier, the recent technology known as CRISPR has allowed scientists an enormous advantage in research into so many areas. Unfortunately there’s a downside which raises serious ethical questions. Françoise Baylis (CM, ONS, PhD, FRSC,… »
Highlights / ethics
Health, International, Internet, Science & Technology, Society
Controversial experiment: Chinese add human gene to monkey brains
Once again Chinese researchers are being condemned for an experiment involving genomics. The controversy comes from an effort to insert a human brain gene into eleven monkey embroyos. The five surviving monkeys did not have bigger brains but their brains… »
New chapter in Canada’s political scandal: disruption to Parliament promised
The ethics scandal that’s been dogging the governing Liberal party had a new twist today, one that has the opposition fuming. An all-party Justice Committee has been hearing testimony into allegations of undue political interference in a legal case of… »
Health, International, Internet, Science & Technology, Politics, Society
We can edit the human genome, but should we?
CRISPR is a recent technological breakthrough in simplifying gene editing, It’s potential is enormous and at the same time it raises great concerns. Those concerns exploded when a Chinese scientist edited the genetic sequence of an embryo (germline) to create twin… »
Prime Minister Trudeau: ethics violations, controversy
Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been under weeks of criticism for a vacation he took with his family. Canada’s outgoing ethics commissioner whose term has just ended, Mary Dawson, has dismissed several charges against the Prime Minister, but did… »
Former police officer found guilty of violating ethics
Former police officer Stefanie Trudeau has been found guilty of violating the police ethics code of the province of Quebec. The complaint was launched by Montreal resident Julian Menezes after he was arrested in May 2012. Julian Menezes said he… »
Former cabinet minister violated ethics law
Canada’s former minister of public safety has been found to have violated conflict of interest rules. The ethics commissioner Mary Dawson issued a report showing that Vic Toews worked for two indigenous communities too soon after he left office in… »
Ethics watchdog in a conflict of interest?
Canada’s ethics commissioner, Mary Dawson, must divulge whether she is asking the prime minister to appoint her for another term, says Duff Conacher, co-founder of the advocacy group Democracy Watch. He says, she may be in a conflict of interest… »
Health, Internet, Science & Technology, Society
Stem cell guidelines aim to assure integrity
Stem cell research is evolving so fast that new international guidelines have been developed to insure rigour, oversight and transparency. The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR). is the world’s largest professional organization of stem cell scientists and while… »
Police officer ‘abused his power’ in seizing phone
A police officer abused his authority when he seized and searched the cellphone of a driver he had pulled over, ruled a police ethics committee in the province of Quebec on Feb. 22, 2013. It is illegal in Quebec to… »
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