Ethics paper: due October 13
Write a 5 page paper (plus references) on one of the following 4 topics.
1. You are in charge of an organization or company that stores electronic
health records. What ethical issues should you consider when crafting
a policy about how to respond if you learn that the privacy of any
or all of your data becomes comprimised? What is current applicable
US or state law? Are the issues different if the data were collected for
research or treatment purposes, or are the issues exactly the same?
2. Ethical issues in synthetic biology. As our ability to read and under-
stand whole genomes increases, inevitably, so will the possibility that
we will eventually know how to make meaningful edits. What are some
of the ethical implications?
3. Ethical issues in genetic testing. Given our increased understanding of
how variations in our own genetic code can impact disease risk, the rise
of personaized medicine means that at some point, for example, there
might be a genetic test that can tell us that we are 40 times more likely
than the average person to develop Alzeimer’s disease before the age
of 60. What are some of the ethical implications?
4. You are in charge of the data analysis for a clinical trial to determine if
drug X can cause nasty side effect Y. The results come back as a weak
yes, but with a statistically insignificant p-value (for example, p=.2).
What are your ethical responsiblities in explaining this finding to a
statistically unsophisticated general public? Does your answer change
if instead p=.1 or p=.05?
