Healthcare industry

Article - 28/03/2019

Supporting the human use of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is no longer a vision of the future, but is already in our midst: whether it is parking aids or search engines, we use the technology quite naturally in many areas of daily life. It promises new, unlimited opportunities, but also poses risks. Experts from the Integrata Foundation in Tübingen work on ethical issues and the human use of IT for improving the life of as many people as possible.

Dossier - 28/08/2018

With molecular diagnostics to biomarker-based personalised therapy

Diagnosing suitable biomarkers is a prerequisite for tailoring personalised therapies to patient heterogeneity. Genetic tests and genome sequencing play a key role in these diagnoses. Up until now, personalised therapy has achieved the greatest success in the field of oncology. However, personalised treatments are also gaining in importance for treating other diseases.

The latest articles, press releases and dossiers on red biotechnology in Baden-Württemberg

Article - 19/08/2013

The Heidelberg practice of whole-genome sequencing

After two years’ work, scientists from Heidelberg have now presented their opinion on the ethical and legal consequences of the total sequencing of the human genome. The paper presents principles and practical recommendations aimed at maintaining the balance between the wellbeing and interests of patients on the one hand and the freedom of research and clinical progress on the other.

Dossier - 05/08/2013

Progress expands bioethical boundaries

Bioethics is a rich and continually evolving field. In the broadest sense, bioethics relates to the way human individuals treat any form of life. The issue of whether human beings have the right to do whatever they want goes way back. However, rapid progress in genetic engineering and cell biology means that it is now necessary to look at certain issues in a new way and recognise that not everything that is technically feasible should actually be…

Dossier - 26/11/2012

Genetic diagnostics: technology reaches the limits of what is medically reasonable

Rapid progress in sequencing technologies is poised to set the imagination of biomedical researchers on fire. Experts now believe that progress is about to make possible what seemed to be utopian a few years ago – it seems likely that it will soon be possible to sequence the human genome in only a few minutes and store and automatically analyse it using tiny automates. However, is everything that is technically feasible also reasonable?

Article - 18/06/2012

Medical ethicists: biobanks need harmonization rather than new laws

There are statutory European provisions on biobanks that regulate biobank research in Europe to a certain extent. Christian Lenk, managing director of the Ethics Commission at Ulm University, calls for the harmonization of existing European regulations rather than the creation of new laws.

Article - 27/06/2011

The EURAT project at the Marsilius Kolleg in Heidelberg

Bioinformaticians, human geneticists, molecular biologists, oncologists, pathologists, lawyers and theologians are all participating in the project “Ethical and legal aspects of the total sequencing of the human genome” (EURAT) being carried out at Heidelberg University’s Marsilius Kolleg. The project partners are developing a common viewpoint and working out solutions for problems arising from the possibilities of total genome sequencing.

Dossier - 07/02/2011

The era of personalised medicine is dawning

A promising future does not easily disappear into thin air. This is certainly the case with the vision of personalised medicine. For many years, biomedical researchers have vaunted the potential benefits of their findings despite the fact that neutral observers do not think that personalised medicine will really take off within the next 15 or 20 years. Moreover personalised medicine is a controversial term. So what is the state of play right now?

Article - 13/03/2010

Assembling life from building blocks?

As part of its “Bioethics Forum”, the German Ethics Council recently held a meeting in Berlin to inform the public about the fundamentals of synthetic biology and potential ethical problems and consequences in terms of our ideas about life and mankind in general arising from the progress made in this new field of research.

What is the difference between knowledge and science? Why did the biotech bubble develop in the first place? Find out more as we talk to the freelance science journalist Sascha Karberg.