Panel to take broad view of bioethics

摘要

US President Barack Obama last week announced the full membership of his bioethics advisory council, unveiling a more diverse body and one that is likely to have a greater impact on policy than its predecessor.rnIn the past decade, ethical questions in science have made headlines on issues such as the patenting of human genes, financial conflicts of interest in biomedical research and risk assessments related to environmental exposure to chemicals.rnThese issues were largely ignored by the bioethics commission established by former president George W. Bush, which maintained a relatively narrow focus on stem cells, cloning and abortion. But all fall within the remit of the new Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, as outlined by the executive order which established it in November 2009.