Edinethics has been working for several years on activities associated with European Commission FP7 projects engaging with the ethical implications of cutting edge science.

• Animal Research Ethics : the use of animals in medical and agricultural applications and research (UK Animals in Science Committee)
• Genome editing in animals and humans : Working group of Scottish Episcopal Church
• Genome editing : regulatory and public engagement issues
• Investment ethics : fossil fuel and other controversial technologies
• Democs card games for public engagement : nanomedicine (EC NanoAthero project); GM and Genome Editing; Embryonic Stem cells in research

• Recently completed: NanoAthero project (2013-2018), ethical issues arising from the use of nanoparticles as the basis to develop clinical methods to detect, and treat, atherosclerosis, which is the major cause of heart attacks and strokes worldwide.
• Lecturing at Edinburgh University on the ethics of genetically modified crops in relation to food security and sustainable agriculture
• Lecturing at Edinburgh University on risk and regulatory aspects of nuclear power
• Public engagement on nanomedicine: presentation at annual the 2018  European Conference for Clinical Nanomedicine, Clinam in Basel, Switzerland.
• Presentation on ethical and regulatory implications of genome editing regarding GM crops and animals, Bilbao, December 2015

Ethics and Public Engagement

In many of these projects we have worked with Perry Walker and the New Economics Foundation (nef) on developing new tools - like the Democs card game and the Open Up! argument maps - for engaging wider publics in thinking about these and other issues. We believe that to address the challenges of emerging issues like these needs a combination of expert ethical analysis and also lay insights which come from public engagement. For more see our Democs pages, including downloadable games.

Past Projects

• partner in the  ESNATS Project (2008-2013) recently completed on the use of embryonic stem cells as alternatives to animal testing of pharmaceuticals for toxicity and public engagement using the Democs card game.
• partner in the ETHENTECH Project (2010-2013) on the ethics of implants for medicine and human enhancement (2009-12), and public engagement using the Democs card game.
  
• partner in the EC FP6 project NanoBio-RAISE
• member of the Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects working group of the EC FP6 project Nano2Life
• member of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Nanotechnology
• member of the Nanotechnology Stakeholder Forum of DEFRA
• member of the Advisory Board of European Commission FP7 Framing Nano project
• member of the ethical working group of the EC FP7 NanoMedRound
• member of the new Society for the Study of Nanoscience and Emerging technologies (S.NET)
  
• an advisor to the EC ObservatoryNano FP7 project
• an advisor to the EC EuroNanoBio FP7 project
• wrote the ethical part of the Nano&Me website project of the Responsible Nanoforum (for the Department for Business Innovation and Skills)

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