As 2003 dawns, the world is grappling with the birth of the alleged first human clone, indigenous people are demanding the return of their sampled DNA and gene therapy is facing unforeseen setbacks. "Biobanks" are enticing citizens to donate DNA with promises of unspecified future health benefits and a revamped US government advisory committee is considering extending human-subjects protections to blastocysts.
Despite the prominence of issues concerning the rights of human research participants, many investigators still have little training in this area of bioethics. For researchers seeking a handle on the increasingly complex ethics of their work, an upcoming online meeting-of-minds, the Scientists and Subjects (SAS) seminar, provides "an intensive, focused curriculum addressing core issues in human subjects research." Kenneth Pimple, Director of Teaching Research Ethics Programs at the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions at Indiana University in Bloomington, developed the NIH-sponsored program, whose fourth ...
