Bioethics News

June 13, 2025

Top Headlines

My Robot Therapist: The Ethics of AI Mental Health Chatbots for Kids

Mar. 31, 2025 — AI mental health apps may offer a cheap and accessible way to fill the gaps in the overstretched U.S. mental health care system, but ethics experts warn that we need to be thoughtful about how we use them, especially with ...

Misplaced Neurons Disrupt Wiring of the Brain

Feb. 25, 2025 — Research reveals why misplaced neurons in the brain are overactive and lead to developmental ...

Telemedicine May Help Reduce Use of Unnecessary Health Tests

Feb. 24, 2025 — A research team has found that telemedicine may help to reduce the use of low-value ...

Advances in AI Can Help Prepare the World for the Next Pandemic, Global Group of Scientists Find

Feb. 19, 2025 — Scientists across Africa, America, Asia, Australia, and Europe outline for the first time how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can transform the landscape of infectious disease research and improve ...

Progress and Challenges in Brain Implants

Jan. 24, 2025 — A scientific team looks at the progress and challenges in the research and development of brain implants. New achievements in the field of this technology are seen as a source of hope for many patients with neurological disorders and have been ...

Too Many Men or Too Few Women? New Study Finds How the Gender Gap Is Framed Affects Perceptions of It

Jan. 2, 2025 — Recognizing that news coverage may have influence in forming attitudes and in driving action, a team of psychology researchers examined whether reframing this gender gap in terms of 'men's ...

Cosmetic Dermatology in the Digital Age

Dec. 2, 2024 — Driven by rapid advances in technology and the ever-growing influence of the digital landscape, the art of caring for the physical body and the digital world are becoming increasingly intertwined. The field of cosmetic dermatology is no ...

Experts Call for Clear and Concise Regulation of Exosome-Based Treatments

Oct. 24, 2024 — Clinics that offer exosome therapies claim they have the ability to repair and regenerate tissues and treat inflammatory and other immune-related conditions in a noninvasive way. Now, a team of bioethicists and legal scholars is sounding the alarm ...

Adapting GenAI for the Next Generation of Learning

Oct. 23, 2024 — A new study by learning analytics researchers presents key considerations for generative AI (GenAI) educational tools so they are carefully developed to support, rather than replace, human ...

Chronic Pain Patients Are More Supportive of Cannabis Access Than Doctors

Oct. 2, 2024 — A study reveals a gap between patient and physician attitudes on medical marijuana ...

People's Moral Values Change With the Seasons

Aug. 6, 2024 — A new psychology study has revealed regular seasonal shifts in people's moral values. The research analyzed survey responses from more than 230,000 people in the U.S. over 10 years and revealed that people's endorsement of moral values that promote ...

Development of 'Living Robots' Needs Regulation and Public Debate

July 22, 2024 — Researchers are calling for regulation to guide the responsible and ethical development of bio-hybrid robotics -- a ground-breaking science which fuses artificial components with living tissue and ...

Latest Headlines

updated 1:39pm EDT

Expanding the Agenda for More Just Genomics

Jan. 2, 2025 — A special report outlines opportunities to enhance justice in genomics, toward a world in which genomic medicine promotes health equity, protects privacy, and respects the rights and values of ...

New Research Into Life-Threatening Birth Defect of the Diaphragm

Aug. 6, 2024 — Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a dangerous malformation of the lungs and diaphragm that causes almost a third of affected babies to die from underdeveloped lungs. Medical researchers made ...

When Allocating Scarce Resources With AI, Randomization Can Improve Fairness

July 26, 2024 — Researchers argue that, in some situations where machine-learning models are used to allocate scarce resources or opportunities, randomizing ...

Researchers Find Common Immune System Mechanism Between Pregnancy, Cancer

July 8, 2024 — Researchers found a molecular mechanism, shared in cancer and pregnancy, that suppresses the immune system. Block this mechanism, called B7-H4, and the immune system revs up to slow cancer's growth. ...

Scientists Map How Deadly Bacteria Evolved to Become Epidemic

July 4, 2024 — Pseudomonas aeruginosa -- an environmental bacteria that can cause devastating multidrug-resistant infections, particularly in people with underlying lung conditions -- evolved rapidly and then ...

New, Holistic Way to Teach Synthetic Biology

June 27, 2024 — Synthetic biology combines principles from science, engineering and social science, creating emerging technologies such as alternative meats and mRNA vaccines; Deconstructing synthetic biology across ...

Embryo and Organoid Models Do Not Threaten the Definition of Personhood, Bioethicist Says

June 20, 2024 — Advances in organoids and embryonic models of human development have the potential to prompt social and existential questions --e.g., what defines ...

Mixed Public Opinion on Polygenic Embryo Screening for IVF

May 14, 2024 — Survey reveals nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults support using emerging technology to screen embryos during IVF for risk of developing certain health conditions or traits that arise from more than ...

Companies May Buy Consumer Genetic Information Despite Its Modest Predictive Power

May 2, 2024 — Genetics can be associated with one's behavior and health -- from the willingness to take risks, and how long one stays in school, to chances of ...

Are Lab-Grown Brain Tissues Ethical? There Is No No-Brainer Answer

Apr. 8, 2024 — Researchers offer insights into the ethical dilemmas and legal complexities surrounding brain organoids, especially those derived from human fetal tissue. Their findings advocate for thorough ...

Study Quantifies Loss of Disability-Free Years of Life from COVID-19 Pandemic

Mar. 11, 2025 — Among 289 million adults in 18 European countries, more than 16 million years of life were lost from 2020 through 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new ...

Human-Like Artificial Intelligence May Face Greater Blame for Moral Violations

Dec. 18, 2024 — In a new study, participants tended to assign greater blame to artificial intelligences (AIs) involved in real-world moral transgressions when they perceived the AIs as having more human-like ...

Recovery of Testing for Heart Disease Risk Factors Post-COVID Remains Patchy

Nov. 26, 2024 — Routine screening to detect risk factors for heart disease dropped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic in England, and some key measurements, such as blood pressure readings, may still lag behind ...

Math-Selective US Universities Reduce Gender Gap in STEM Fields

Nov. 21, 2024 — Nationally, men in colleges and universities currently outpace women in earning degrees in physics, engineering, and computer science (PECS) by an approximate ratio of 4 to 1. To better understand ...

Only Certain Paranormal Beliefs May Be Linked With More Stress and Distress

Nov. 13, 2024 — In a new study, feelings of distress and reduced ability to cope with stress were associated with traditional paranormal beliefs, but not with new age ...

Organ Donation: Opt-out Defaults Do Not Increase Donation Rates, Study Finds

Nov. 13, 2024 — A recent study shows that switching to an opt-out organ donation policy, where all adults are presumed organ donors unless they explicitly opt out, does not increase donations from deceased ...

New Study Traces Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Movement and Evolution of Seasonal Flu

Nov. 7, 2024 — Increased capabilities for genomic surveillance have offered new insights into global viral evolution. Seasonal flu showed a 'remarkable' bounce back to pre-pandemic levels once ...

From Compliance to Conversation: New Guidelines Push for Ethical Reflection in Research Reporting

Nov. 4, 2024 — A new study highlights key challenges and tensions in research ethics, particularly in light of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, and calls for the adoption of new research ...

Remote Medical Interpreting Is a Double-Edged Sword in Healthcare Communication, Researchers Find

Nov. 4, 2024 — Remote medical interpreting (RMI) may be hindering healthcare communication rather than helping it, according to a new ...

How COVID-19 Transformed Family Dinners

Oct. 31, 2024 — While the lockdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic led many families to eat more meals at home, they had an additional benefit: an increase in the quality of family time during those dinners, ...

COVID-19 Pandemic Worsened Patient Safety Measures, Study Finds

Oct. 30, 2024 — A new study has found that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted patient safety indicators in U.S. hospitals. The study examined data from the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators ...

Nearly 6 Percent of Pregnant Women Report Marijuana Use, U.S. Study Finds

Oct. 30, 2024 — A new study, using responses from the U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health, has found that about 6 percent of pregnant women reported using marijuana during the last month, and many did not ...

Engineers Unveil AI Model for Predicting, Controlling Pandemic Spread

Oct. 24, 2024 — A team of engineers has published a study on how international air travel has influenced the spread of COVID-19, finding Western Europe, the Middle East and North America as leading regions in ...

Bystanders in a Combat Zone Are Treated as Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Oct. 23, 2024 — People's bias toward sacrificing unknown bystanders appears to stem from assuming the unidentified person is an enemy, according to a new ...

H5 Influenza Vaccines: What Needs to Be Done to Reduce the Risk of a Pandemic

Sep. 4, 2024 — As the global threat of H5N1 influenza looms with outbreaks across species and continents including the U.S., three international vaccine and public health experts say it is time to fully resource ...

COVID-19 Vaccination Mandates Boosted Uptake Among Health Care Workers, Study Finds

Sep. 3, 2024 — A new study has found that state-level COVID-19 vaccination mandates successfully increased vaccine rates among health care workers, a finding that, while perhaps unsurprising, provides evidence of ...

Morals Are Key to Consumer Views on Lab-Grown Meat, Study Finds

July 19, 2024 — People's moral values could limit their uptake of lab-grown meat, a study suggests. People who say living a natural life is morally important to them are more likely to reject lab-grown meat -- ...

Charting an Equitable Future for DNA and Ancient DNA Research in Africa

July 11, 2024 — The American Journal of Human Genetics recently published a perspective piece on the need for an equitable and inclusive future for DNA and ancient DNA (aDNA) research in Africa. The paper highlights ...

Treatment from Female Doctors Leads to Lower Mortality and Hospital Readmission Rates, Study Suggests

Apr. 23, 2024 — Patients have lower rates of mortality and hospital readmissions when treated by female physicians, with female patients benefitting more than their male counterparts, new research ...

Less Obesity in 3 And 4-Year-Olds After the Pandemic, Swedish Study Finds

Mar. 25, 2024 — The prevalence of overweight and obesity in the group of 3- and 4-year-olds in Sweden has decreased after the pandemic. The increase during the pandemic thus appears to have been temporary, according ...