Bioethics

• Written specifically for biosciences students, with just the right mix of science and philosophy for this target audience
• The broadest, most balanced textbook on bioethics available, offering students a clear, objective introduction to the subject
• Presents different perspectives on common themes to encourage students to question, evaluate, and form a view
• Chapters include many useful tools including self-assessment questions, topics for discussion, and exercises, which support and foster student learning
• References to recommended further reading and useful web sites encourage the student to delve more deeply into areas of interest
• Online Resource Centre features additional resources for both lecturers and students, including extensive topical updates to keep the reader fully informed of latest developments in this fast-moving field

New to this edition

• This extensive revision captures the latest developments in this continually evolving field. Key changes include: Chapter 5: · updating of UK regulatory procedures/committees · expanded treatment of China's 'one-child' policy · international differences in standards of sexual morality
• Chapter 6: · population studies on disease and genetics · forensic uses of DNA: critical assessment of UK database · coverage of developments in stem cell research - expanded treatment of saviour siblings
• Chapter 7: · discussion of ethical concerns re seafoods · public attitudes to farm animal welfare in the EU · discussion of ethical concerns re pedigree dogs - the UK Animal Welfare Act (2005)
• Chapter 8: · Nuffield Council on Bioethics report on animal experiments (2005) · limitations of animal experiments (re new trials assessment & life threatening human trials)
• Chapter 12: · expanded treatment of 'deep ecology' · developments on climate change at UN and UK levels · expanded treatment of BSE and FMD · DEFRA programme on sustainability
• Chapter 14: · updates on UK government policy/administration of biosciences (FSA, HFEA etc) · discussion of embryo experiments · discussion of animal/human hybrids in research
• Chapter 15: · additional comments on business ethics · introduction of section on ethics of nanotechnology - introduction of section on neuroethics

Readership: Second and third year undergraduate students and their lecturers. It is written for all biological science students, including those in the applied fields of agriculture, food science, environmental sciences and paramedical sciences.

Ben Mepham, Special Professor in Applied Bioethics, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham and Visiting Professor in Bioethics, Department of Policy Studies, University of Lincoln, UK

"... the work is very powerful ... and stands as a prominent landmark for the work of all educators in biology." - Alastair Land in Journal of Biological Education

"It is an excellent introduction to the subject for biosciences students: clear, comprehensive, relevant, fair-minded and even-handed, obviously written by a skilled teacher with a mature understanding of current developments and thinking in both science and ethics. The text is studded with thought-provoking facts and telling quotations and the author's ethical matrix meshes well with the detailed contents of the chapters on specific topics." - Professor Kenneth M Boyd, Biomedical Teaching Organisation, University of Edinburgh

"Ben Mepham is to be congratulated on producing a very readable text covering such a variety of topics in bioethics. I would recommend this text to tutors and final year undergraduate bioscience students as both an introduction to the concepts of bioethics and in providing further depth and points for discursive thought." - Joyce Overfield, School of Biology, Chemistry and Health Science, Manchester Metropolitan University

"I am impressed with Mepham's knowledge of bioethics and his ability to articulately and intelligently communicate that knowledge to introductory students. His logical, objective approach in discussing a subject that is widely misunderstood, and often feared, is timely and important. I can think of no other textbook that I would rather have in the classroom when asking students to leave their opinions, biases, and intellectual baggage at the door and consider bioethics in a meaningful, thoughtful, and substantive manner." - Jason Johnstone-Yellin, University of Idaho, USA

1. The theoretical background to bioethics
1: The nature of bioethics
2: Theories of ethics
3: A framework for ethical analysis
2. Bioethics and human futures
4: The biology of poverty
5: Fertility and morality
6: Genomics, eugenics and integrity
3. Bioethics and animals
7: Human uses of animals
8: Experiments on animals
9: Animals and modern biotechnology
4. Bioethics, plants and the environment
10: The first generation of genetically modified crops
11: Dietary futures
12: Environmental sustainability
5. Bioethics in practice
13: Risk, precaution and trust
14: Politics and the biosciences
15: Bioethics in the laboratory