The GM Food Debate

 This post develops and updates two previous resources produced by the BioethicsBytes team: Bioethics Briefing Number 2: Crop plant and genetic modification and Guide to streamed media 2. Genetic Modification. It consolidates recent media coverage of genetically modified (GM) crops and their wider implications for both local and global society. Through a series of short streamed videos it will provide teachers, students and others with the main arguments for and against genetically modified crops. The bioethical issues surrounding GM crops can be found extensively in both GCSE (AQA, Edexcel, OCR and WJEC) and A level UK Curriculum.

 

BBC - Topics: GM Food

More tricky decisions – Inside the ethics committee

Visit the Inside the Ethics Committee homepage at BBC Radio 4

The fourth series of BBC Radio 4’s bioethics programme Inside the Ethics Committee began on August 6 2008, and discussed some of the ethical issues involved in the creation of ’saviour siblings’ (first broadcast on BBC Radio 4, at 20.00, August 6 2008 and repeated on August 9 2008, at 22.15). Vivienne Parry and a panel of experts discuss the ethical issues around real-life medical cases, on this occasion the dilemma involves a young child, Catherine, and her medical treatment. Previous BioethicsBytes posts have noted the utility of this series (see the post Making tricky decisions – Inside the ethics committee), and this episode is no different.

Shortly after she was born Catherine was diagnosed with Diamond Blackfan Anaemia (DBA). DBA is a rare blood disorder caused by a genetic mutation. In general, its treatment is “gruelling” (00:02:27) and the prognosis is poor. As in several previous cases (notably, the Whitaker, Fletcher and Mariethoz families), Catherine’s parents were offered the option of using preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for tissue typing alone in order to create a ’saviour sibling’ whose umbilical cord blood could be used to treat Catherine’s DBA.

Many of the ethical issues involved in this choice have been dealt with in past BioethicsBytes posts (see The Future of Our Families? and the extended commentary that accompanies that post), however this edition of Inside the Ethics Committee brings consideration of these issues up to date. Though the majority of the ethical issues raised are covered in our existing posts, some of the additional details noted here about DBA and the testing procedure introduce new complications into the ethical debate.

My Life On A Post-it Note

BBC News article

Christine was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. The BBC documentary series One Life gave a personal insight into the effect of the disease on both the sufferer and the family around them, as they endeavour to cope with this deliberating illness. Christine (mostly referred to as Chris in the documentary) is resolute in her determination to remain independent. This, however, becomes increasingly difficult as the disease becomes progressively worse.

Drug Trials – The Dark Side

BBC Reporter Paul Kenyon - speaking to patients outside an Indian hospital

A documentary in BBC2’s This World strand, Drug Trials: The Dark Side investigated the murky world of clinical trials carried our in the developing world. Reporter Paul Kenyon travels to India in an attempt to uncover the actions of some of the world’s biggest drug companies. Through a series of interviews with both doctors and patients, it reveals some discrepancies with regards to clinical trial protocol. This raises five main ethical issues:

• Patient recruitment onto drug trials
• Informed consent
• The trust between a doctor and their patient
• The methodology implemented during a drug trial
• The cost and accessibility of drugs in the developing world