Bioethics.net

November 8, 2012 6:12 pm

British Academics Say Technological Enhancements to Employees Raise Ethical Questions (Washington Post)

Performance-boosting drugs, powered prostheses and wearable computers are coming to an office near you — but experts warned in a new report Wednesday that too little thought has been given to the implications of a superhuman workplace.

July 17, 2012 4:01 pm

The Ethics of Sports 'We Need an Open Market for Doping' (Spiegel Online)

It is commonly accepting that doping in sports should be strictly prohibited. But Oxford bio-ethicist Julian Savulescu disagrees. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE on the eve of the London Olympics, he explains why bans are unrealistic and demands an open market for doping.

June 9, 2012 9:00 pm

Seeking an Edge, Teenage Strivers Turn to Stimulants (New York Times)

At high schools across the United States, pressure over grades and competition for college admissions are encouraging students to abuse prescription stimulants, according to interviews with students, parents and doctors. Pills that have been a staple in some college and graduate school circles are going from rare to routine in many academically competitive high schools, where teenagers say they get them from friends, buy them from student dealers or fake symptoms to their parents and doctors to get prescriptions.

June 4, 2012 12:11 am

Bionic Brains and Beyond (Wall Street Journal)

Over the next decade, new implantable technologies will fundamentally alter the social landscape. We are fast approaching a milestone in the eons-long relationship between human beings and their technology. Families once gathered around the radio like it was a warm fireplace. Then boom boxes leapt onto our shoulders. The Sony Walkman climbed into our pockets and sank its black foam tentacles into our ears. The newest tools are creeping still closer: They will soon come inside and make themselves at home under our skin—some already have.

May 30, 2012 1:58 pm

Side effects may include...A's? (The Octagon)

It was getting late, but he had finally finished all three of his assignments. If he’d been asked, Paul Kessler, ‘11, would’ve said that he’d been studying for only 45 minutes. However, the clock told a different story: two hours had passed. The Adderall worked.  That night, Kessler had purchased Adderall, an ADHD drug, without a prescription — something that many college students across the nation are doing in order to focus.

April 12, 2012 11:42 pm

Amputees Just Looking for a Fight (New York Times)

Just 26 and with a creditable — if unexceptional — pedigree in amateur wrestling, Newell is not so fearsome that professional fighters should cower. Yet the list of fighters who have canceled or rejected bouts with him is about two dozen long, and the reason is clear: it can be difficult to persuade able-bodied athletes to fight a man with one hand.

Sport needs to re-think both disability and enhancement.

March 10, 2012 9:35 am

Why It's OK to Let Apps Make You a Better Person (The Atlantic)

Evan Selinger considers the ramifications of using apps to improve our habits. And also whether willpower as we normally think about it even exists. #bioethics #neuroethics #brain #philosophy

March 1, 2012 12:25 am

Super-human brain technology sparks ethics debate (Chicago Tribune)

A British ethics group has launched a debate on the ethical dilemmas posed by new technologies that tap into the brain and could bring super-human strength, highly enhanced concentration or thought-controlled weaponry. #bioethics

February 24, 2012 12:26 am

Could babies born today live to 150? (CBS News)

In 1850, the average human lifespan was 43 years. Now it’s closer to 80. How high could it go? And what effect will the ever-increasing lifespan of humans have upon society? #bioethics #aging

February 21, 2012 8:28 pm

Bioconservatives vs. Bioprogressives (Reason)

Opposition to the technologies that make life longer, healthier, and happier creates strange bedfellows argues Ronald Bailey. #bioethics #politics